BMIT Technologies plc - Full-Year Results
On 12 March 2020, BMIT Technologies plc (“BMIT”) published its financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019.
Performance Overview
During 2019, BMIT registered a 4.8% increase in revenues to €22.4 million (2018: €21.4 million), driven by growth in the colocation and connectivity services (+11%) which was however partly offset by the decline in managed services amid challenges in the company’s recruitment process.
Operating costs also grew by 4.8% to €15.1 million, largely reflecting the higher volumes of business as well as additional investments in marketing following a rebranding exercise. Nonetheless, operating profit still improved by almost 5% to €7.31 million and translating into an unchanged operating profit margin of 32.6%. Excluding depreciation and amortisation, BMIT recorded an EBITDA of €10 million which is in line with the company’s projections at the time of the equity listing in early 2019.
After taking into account a marginal finance cost of €0.14 million, BMIT reported a pre-tax profit of €7.18 million, representing a growth of 2.9% over the previous corresponding figure of €6.97 million. The tax charge for the year amounted to €2.73 million (FY2018: €2.48 million), thus leading to a net profit figure of €4.45 million and translating into a return on average equity of just under 49%. The profit for the year is minimally lower than the net profit of €4.49 million registered in the 2018 financial year, and €0.7 million below the projected figure of €5.15 million at the time of the equity listing.
The Statement of Financial Position shows a considerable increase in total assets to €23.1 million largely reflecting the recognition of ‘right-of-use assets’ amounting to €4.5 million as well as the increase in the company’s cash balances to €5.35 million compared to €0.67 million as at the end of 2018. Similarly, total liabilities climbed to €11.8 million (+€5.06 million), with the increase mostly due to the recognition of ‘lease liabilities’ amounting to €4.03 million. As a result, the company’s equity base expanded to €11.3 million compared to €6.87 million as at 31 December 2018.
Dividend
The Board of Directors of BMIT are recommending the payment of a total net dividend of €4.39 million. This translates into a net dividend of €0.02157 per share which, in turn, is exactly in line with the projected dividend at the time of the equity listing. The dividend is payable on 4 June 2020 to all shareholders as at close of trading on 27 April 2020 subject to shareholders’ approval during the Annual General Meeting which is scheduled to be held on 1 June 2020.
Outlook
In the commentary to the 2019 financial statements, the company explained that 2019 was characterised by the completion of the acquisition of Kinetix IT Solutions Limited (“Kinetix”), and thereafter by the transition of BMIT Limited with Kinetix as a combined entity. Furthermore, during the year, BMIT continued with its investment in the new state-of-the-art multi-site data centre located in Zejtun, as well as the conclusion of a promise of sale agreement for the acquisition of the Handaq data centre.
Looking ahead, BMIT explained that during 2020, it will continue to enhance its portfolio and services to further strengthen its hybrid IT offering. The company also noted that this will also be supported by improvements in operational capabilities, processes and a thorough review of the systems. Accordingly, 2020 will present new challenges and opportunities with a view of maintaining growth and sustainable, long-term returns as top priorities.