Business applications software provider, COA Solutions, today reports solid financial results for year ending 31 March 2009 with revenues increasing by 7.4% to £59.8m (2008: £55.7m). Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were £12.8m (2008: £12.4m). These results consolidate the company’s position as the UK’s leading independent business applications software vendor.
Mark Thompson, Managing Director of COA Solutions, says, “Trading conditions during the last financial year have been the most uncertain and challenging I have ever witnessed. Despite this economic turmoil, our resilient business model has ensured that we’ve increased revenues and profits whilst sustaining growth in market share.”
Thompson continues, “We enjoyed continued strength in a cross-section of industries with the health and education sectors proving particularly buoyant markets for new business wins. Despite highly competitive conditions, COA Solutions secured a 6% growth in its customer base by gaining 227 new accounts. The balance sheet is strong and with recurring revenues accounting for more than 50% of annual revenues, COA Solutions is in an extremely competitive position and is ready to capitalise on the opportunities presented by an upturn.”
In preparation for when the economy returns to growth, COA Solutions has been tightly integrating its more recent acquisitions and readying the company’s infrastructure for further acquisitions. The company has also increased investment in its core finance and human capital management (HCM) products as well as new solutions such as managed services and business intelligence technologies. This is in addition to launching a research initiative to evaluate the transition of key products into cloud platforms and software as a service (SaaS) environments.
Thompson says, “We are continuing to listen and respond to what UK organisations want from their business application software products and services, whether this is improved integration, managed and bureau services or new bolt-on applications. By investing in solutions that meet critical customer needs, we are ensuring that COA Solutions remains a vibrant leader in the UK software industry.”
Financial highlights for year ending 31 March 2009 include:
• £11.1m positive cash movement during the year (2008: £8.1m)
• Operating cash conversion in excess of 100% of EBITDA
• Days sales outstanding (DSO) reduced by 20% to 57 days (2008: 71 days)
• Annuity based revenues represent 51% of annual turnover
• 615 new customers including 227 new customer wins and 388 acquired customers (from the Belmin and ASR Computers acquisitions)
• Renewal rates for support contracts continued to exceed management’s goal of 95%
• As of 31st March 2009, the backlog of professional services orders increased by 7.8% to £6.9m (2008: £6.4m)
• Revenues per head remained in the top quartile of UK software and IT services companies at £107k
• Year-end headcount increased 20% to 558 (2008: 464)
• Off-shore development staff headcount more than doubled to 85 (2008:40)
