Cerillion Regulatory News (CER)

20 April 2020

AIM: CER

 Cerillion plc

("Cerillion" or "the Company")

Half Year Trading Update

Cerillion, the billing, charging and customer relationship management software solutions provider, is pleased to announce an update on trading for the first six months of its current financial year ending 30 September 2020, and comments on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the business.

The Company's primary focus is the safety and welfare of its staff and customers. Management is monitoring government guidance regarding the coronavirus pandemic and has taken action to ensure that all staff are able to operate safely while continuing to provide the full range of the Company's services to customers.

Trading Update

Cerillion has traded strongly in the six months to 31 March 2020, in line with management expectations. This reflects the four major new contracts signed from mid-June onwards in 2019 as well as continuing demand from existing customers. Prospects for the remainder of the financial year continue to look very positive.

Revenue for the first half is expected to total approximately £10.2m, an increase of 46% on the comparative period last year (H1 2019: £7.0m), although the timing of the closure of major contracts in 2019 resulted in that year being more second-half weighted than normal. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be £2.7m (H1 2019: £0.4m), a record first half since the Company was admitted to AIM in 2016.

The Company's balance sheet remains strong, with net cash at 31 March 2020 of £4.8m (31 March 2019: £2.6m).

Reflecting the momentum in the business, the Company has added further resource, and its sales pipeline remains encouraging. In April, the Company agreed a major upgrade and a five year contract extension with Manx Telecom, a long-established customer, in which Manx Telecom moved to a new SaaS agreement.

In the period, the Company also released Cerillion 8.1, the latest version of its enterprise OSS/BSS suite for fixed, mobile, cable and multi-service operators. The new software provides customers with significant operational efficiencies, drives customer engagement through mobile devices, and opens new channels for customer growth including through Mobile App, which enables in-app purchases.

Coronavirus Pandemic

While additional precautions are being taken regarding staff safety, the Company has not experienced any slowdown in trading activity to date. Cerillion's customers are predominantly telecommunications operators providing critical infrastructure and services, and operators are currently typically seeing strong data traffic levels arising from national 'lockdowns' across the globe. The Board therefore believes that there is a substantial degree of resilience to Cerillion's business model.

Notice of results

The Board intends to announce interim results for the six months to 31 March 2020 in mid-May 2020, when the Company will provide a further update on current trading. 

Louis Hall, Chief Executive of Cerillion, commented:

"Trading continues to show strong momentum, reflecting last year's record level of major new orders, and we have recruited more staff to support ongoing growth. We remain confident about prospects for the remainder of the year, given the existing strong order book, and the pipeline of potential new business remains encouraging.

"Cerillion's long-term prospects remain very positive, underpinned by the quality and growing relevance of our product offering, which is gaining increasing market recognition, as well as the growth opportunities we see in our market."

About Cerillion

www.cerillion.com

Cerillion is a leading provider of mission critical software for billing, charging and customer relationship management ("CRM"), mainly serving the telecommunications market but also other sectors such as utilities and financial services. The Company currently has over 90 customer installations across over 40 countries.

Headquartered in London, Cerillion also has operations in Pune, India, where its Global Solutions Centre is located, Miami and Sydney.