BLTG.L Regulatory News (BLTG)

Blancco Technology Group PLC

("Blancco" or the "Group")

Pre Close Trading Update

Structural tailwinds support continued financial progress

Blancco Technology Group (AIM: BLTG), the industry standard in data erasure and mobile device diagnostics, provides the following trading update for the financial year ended 30 June 2020 ("FY 2020").

Blancco has continued to benefit from strong structural tailwinds which have supported continued revenue and profit growth in FY 2020. Although the COVID-19 pandemic lengthened sales cycles in the second half of FY 2020, the Board expect results for FY 2020 to be in line with current market expectations with revenue of approximately £33.4m (FY19: £30.5m) and Adjusted* Operating Profit of approximately £4.0m (FY19: £3.5m). As anticipated at the time of the Group's interim results in February 2020, cash generation has continued to improve in the second half of FY 2020 and the Group ended the year with £6.7m of net cash (30 June 2019: £0.1m). 

The Group has continued to make strong progress in further developing its relationships with channel partners to drive growth in the Enterprise market. In December 2019, Blancco was awarded Advanced Technology Partner status with Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner Network (APN). In June 2020, the Group's services were included on the AWS marketplace platform which has significantly increased the visibility of Blancco's data sanitisation technologies to AWS customers. 

The Mobile segment continues to progress well, and the Master Services Agreement with an Aon Group Company that we announced in June 2020, is progressing in line with management's expectations. Overall, awareness and traction of Blancco's diagnostic solution in the provision of mobile phone insurance continues to increase.

The Group expects to announce its financial results for the year ended 30 June 2020 on Tuesday, 29 September 2020. A briefing for analysts will be held at 3.00pm on Tuesday, 29 September via conference call. Please contact Buchanan at blancco@buchanan.uk.com to register.

*Adjusted Operating Profit excludes expenses relating to share option schemes, exceptional costs and incomes and the amortisation of acquired intangible assets

Matt Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Blancco, commented:

"Despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, Blancco has continued to deliver on its stated growth strategy. In the short term, the challenges created by the pandemic of lengthened sales cycles are expected to temper growth in the early months of this new financial year. However, our pipeline is strengthening and the widespread implementation of remote working has led to a noticeable increase in the purchase of IT equipment which is likely to lead to increased demand for our services in the medium term. In addition, the growing focus on the environmental footprint of IT assets has increased the attention given to their lifecycles by enterprises and highlighted the need for comprehensive ongoing data management. Although the impact of COVID-19 has clearly introduced some uncertainty, we are confident that we are well placed to create further value with both a strong balance sheet and a product suite that addresses the regulatory and environmental challenges that are facing all organisations at the present time."

ENDS

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About Blancco

Blancco Technology Group plc is a leading global provider of mobile device diagnostics and secure data erasure solutions. For more information, please visit www.blanccotechnologygroup.com.