Big Technologies Regulatory News (BIG)

24 January 2022

Big Technologies plc

("Big Technologies" or the "Company" and the "Group") 

Trading Update

Big Technologies plc, the UK-based remote people monitoring technology company, issues the following trading update ahead of the announcement scheduled for 24th March 2022 of its full year results for the year ended 31st December 2021.

The Group continued to deliver a robust performance throughout 2021 and has continued to win new customers which underpins our revenue forecast for 2022. As a result, revenue for the year ended 31st December 2021 is expected to be at least £36.5 million (2020: £29.6 million) and adjusted EBITDA is expected to be slightly ahead of current market expectations1 of c.£20.2 million (2020: £15.7 million).

Net cash as at 31st December 2021 increased to £48 million which provides significant financial flexibility to invest in our operations and technology.

As we look forward to 2022 the Group expects to deliver year on year revenue growth at a similar growth rate to that experienced in 2021 and a further increase in the adjusted EBITDA margin as we continue to penetrate new geographic markets and scale-up our business activities.

1: by reference to company calculated analyst consensus

Sara Murray OBE, Chief Executive Officer commented:

"Big Technologies expects to deliver a strong performance for 2021 and beyond. Our business model is one of long term partnership with our customers and has proven to be extremely resilient. Following our successful IPO in July 2021, we have the financial resources to continue to increase our investment in our market-leading technology solutions and grow our footprint both organically and through acquisition. We remain confident about our prospects for the coming year and beyond to continue to develop our company and our innovative technologies."

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About Big Technologies

Big Technologies is the parent company of Buddi, which was founded in 2005 by its current CEO, Sara Murray, following an initial idea to create a GPS device small enough for a child to carry. Today, Big Technologies is a proven supplier of innovative and high-quality products and services to the remote personal monitoring industry. Big Technologies provides products and services under a number of brand and trading names, with 'Buddi' being the most well-known and being used in respect of activities within the core criminal justice market. Big Technologies (under the buddi brand) has created a leading, integrated technology platform (including both hardware and software solutions) for remote monitoring of individuals, providing state-of-the-art Electronic Monitoring (EM) solutions on a SaaS-like, subscription basis.

Electronic Monitoring in the criminal justice sector involves utilising location technologies to remotely monitor and manage people at all stages of the criminal justice system. The Company's focus on the Criminal Justice market in the immediate term has been demand-driven, with significant opportunities created by a combination of favourable market tailwinds as electronic location devices are increasingly recognised as alternatives to imprisonment, and superior technological capability enabling the Company to meet this demand effectively.

Big Technologies' criminal justice solution has been iteratively developed over a 10-year period, utilising the knowledge of an experienced management team listening to customers. The solution consists of a proprietary software platform with modular monitoring hardware, capable of being adapted to multiple applications. The Company's criminal justice solution is principally focussed around the "Buddi Smart Tag", an electronic monitoring hardware device, and "Buddi Eagle", the in-house developed, cloud-based monitoring software. Collectively, the hardware and the intelligent tools integrated into Big Technologies' software enable real-time tracking of monitored individuals with high levels of accuracy and reliability. Buddi evidences a substantial reduction in false alerts when compared to competitor systems, which combined with the reduction in subsequent investigations can result in substantial cost savings for customers.

In addition to the high levels of accuracy, the Buddi Smart Tag has several key advantages over its competitors' devices. The tag is lighter, smaller, has longer battery life and offers a simple, contact free and shorter installation process, providing substantial staff cost savings for customers. This superior product design, coupled with the intelligent monitoring software, typically comes at a small price premium to competitor devices. However, the overall effectiveness and reliability of the solution, combined with the substantial cost savings delivered as a result of reduced monitoring costs, have helped Big Technologies deliver strong revenue growth from both existing and new customers. The Company leases its devices and software solutions to customers typically based on daily or monthly rates