Integrated Research reports strong growth for FY23

Technology company Integrated Research (ASX: IRI) has confirmed a renewals period of between $67 million and $69 million for the 2023 financial year.

The figure represents an increase of between 18% and 22% on the previous year and has been attributed to strong growth from the company’s IR Collaborate and IR Transact product lines.

IR Infrastructure was also reported to have continued a pattern of solid growth relative to previous periods.

IR Collaborate and IR Infrastructure tracked ahead of the company’s expectations.

Regional performance

Integrated’s business performance in the Americas was up to 7% ahead of the previous corresponding period, with growth across all product lines.

The Asia-Pacific region also continued a strong performance with growth of 40%.

Operations in Europe reported up to 20% growth, particularly across IR Transact and IR Infrastructure, following low volumes in the previous corresponding period.

Revenue figures

Subject to audit, the figures could translate into reported statutory revenue in the range of around $70 million for the current financial year, representing an increase of up to 11% on the previous period.

On a pro-forma basis, revenue is anticipated to be in the range of $73 million and $76 million, which would represent a decrease of between 4% and 9% on the previous year and would reflect lower non-recurring (services and testing) revenue.

The company’s cash at bank for the period increased by 51% on the previous year to $18.6 million as a result of a strong collections focus.

Difficult trading environment

During the 2022 financial year, Integrated Research actively resized its business to address the impacts of a difficult trading environment and the renewed cost focus has continued through 2023.

An uptick in expenses was retained at under 3% while inflationary pressures remained around salaries and other employee-related costs, as well as travel to client meetings, events and trade shows.

Notwithstanding the cost pressures, the company’s statutory EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) for the current financial year is expected to be up to $13 million, representing an increase of up to 53% on the previous year.

On a high

Chief executive officer John Ruthven said he was pleased to end the financial year on a high.

“The strength of our renewal base continues to underpin overall company performance, noting that renewals were weighted slightly to the first half and offset by lower renewals from IR Collaborate,” he said.

“New business was slower than we had anticipated, despite some signature new customer wins in the IR Collaborate portfolio [while] our improved cash position highlights the value of our blue-chip customer base.”