Last checked at 4 May 2021 07:00
GRC International Group plc ("GRC" or the "Group")
Trading Update
GRC, a leading supplier of IT governance, cyber security, risk management and compliance products and services, is pleased to announce the following trading update in respect to its trading performance in Q4 FY21.
Significant H2 performance improvements
The Group saw significant improvements in performance across all areas of its business in H2 of FY21 (12 months ended 31 March 2021), culminating with strong Q4 billings* that generated positive EBITDA and positive cash flow for the quarter, following only a small EBITDA loss in Q3.
The performance improvement started at the end of November 2020 and continues through into the new calendar year.
H1 FY21 H2 FY21 Change
Total billings £5.6m £6.7m +20%
Total billings per FTE** £39k £46k +18%
Cyber security billings £3.5m £4.5m +29%
Recurring & contracted billings £3.0m £3.6m +20%
Website billings £1.5m £2.5m +67%
Website visits 1.7m 1.9m +12%
(The 'Cyber security', 'Recuring and contracted' and 'Website' categories in the table above are non-exclusive. An invoice or web sale can feature in more than one category.)
The March 2021 total monthly billings figure was the strongest achieved by the Group in the two years since March 2019.
45% of transactions in the quarter were from new customers, with the balance from returning existing customers.
15 months after launching the first Group subscription service, there are now a cumulative 3,600 subscribers to recurring revenue Lines of Business in Vigilant Software, GRC e-Learning, IASME Cyber Essentials, ITGP Toolkits, and GRCI Law, with a combined rolling annual churn rate of only 2.2%.
Q4 performance
The H2 performance improvement was particularly driven by growing demand and activity through February and March.
· Billings per business day increased from £51k in Q3 to £60k in Q4.
· Website traffic and transactions in March 2021 increased by 12% and 13% respectively on February 2021.
· March's web traffic was the best month since July 2018, just after the end of the peak GDPR period.
Q4 Notable contract wins included the Royal Mail, PwC, Open University, NHS, Government Internal Audit Agency, Ely Cathedral, BBC, Rightmove, Mazars, HM Treasury, Langham Hospitality Group, IPG MediaBrands, Unicef, and SipChem.
Cash and available finance facilities
The Group ended the financial year with net cash of £0.2m, ahead of expectations, reflecting lower capital expenditure and a deferral of certain HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) liabilities due for repayment in FY22.
The Group's pre-existing facility headroom available at the half year on 30 September 2020 of circa £600k, being the aggregation of two separate facilities, is still undrawn.
The Group will report its Preliminary Results for FY21 later in the summer.
*Billings equate to the total value of invoices raised as cash sales through the Group's websites. The figure does not take account of accrued or deferred income adjustments that are required to comply with accounting standards for revenue recognition.
**FTE stands for Full Time Equivalent employee.
Enquiries:
GRC International Group plc +44 (0) 330 999 0222
Alan Calder, Chief Executive Officer
Christopher Hartshorne, Finance Director
Grant Thornton UK LLP (Nominated Adviser) +44 (0) 20 7383 5100
Philip Secrett
Dowgate Capital Limited (Broker) +44 (0) 20 3903 7715
James Serjeant / David Poutney
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
About GRC International Group plc
GRC International Group plc was admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market in March 2018.
GRC provides a comprehensive suite of products and services to address the IT governance, risk management and compliance requirements of organisations seeking to address a wide range of data protection and cyber security regulation. The Company provides a range of services and products through three divisions: Training, Consultancy, and Publishing and Distribution.
The Group has an international customer base which is expected to grow as GRC expands its geographical footprint. Since admission to AIM, the Group has expanded internationally with operations now established in Ireland, the US and Northern Europe