ClearStar swings to EBITDA profit in first half

(Sharecast News) - Background check technology and service provider ClearStar announced its unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June on Monday, reporting an 11% improvement in revenue to $9.9m.The AIM-traded firm said it swung to adjusted EBITDA earnings of $0.07m, from a loss of $0.17m a year ago.Total operating expenses were said to be flat at $6.3m, while the company's operational cash flow improved to inflow of $0.28m from a $0.32m outflow.As at 30 June, ClearStar said it had net cash of $1.2m, down from $1.3m at the end of December, with a full $5.0m revolving credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank still available."In our core growth streams of medical information services and direct sales, we saw a strong increase in revenue as we capitalised on our competitive-lead in product offering and our expanding brand awareness," said ClearStar chief executive officer Robert Vale."This revenue growth, combined with a stable cost base, has enabled us to deliver our stated aim of translating higher revenue into EBITDA earnings."Vale said the company also established new channels-to-market and implemented measures to strengthen its sales and marketing infrastructure, which he said was already helping to add to its pipeline."With good visibility over revenue and increasing interest in ClearStar's services, especially for medical screening, we are confident of achieving full year 2018 revenue growth in line with market expectations and being EBITDA positive, and we expect to deliver accelerated revenue growth in 2019."