Vista lifts 1H profit, expects 20% plus growth

Vista lifts 1H profit, expects 20% plus growth in annual earnings

By Sophie Boot

Aug. 24 (BusinessDesk) - Vista Group International lifted first-half profit by 34 percent as recurring revenue rose and the cinema software firm continued with its international expansion.

Net profit rose to $3.6 million in the six months ended June 30, from $2.7 million a year earlier, the Auckland-based company's accounts show. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation lifted 74 percent to $10.3 million on a 23 percent rise in revenue to $50.1 million.

The company said the strong result "supports the full year growth projection for FY2017 of 20 percent plus", though it said the second half skew of revenue was unlikely to be as pronounced as in the past. Recurring revenue increased 27 percent to $29.4 million compared to the first half of 2016, and now represents 59 percent of its total revenue, Vista said.

The cinema software firm has been bolting on new acquisitions since it went public in 2014. Last year, it bought half of London-based marketing firm Powster, half of Dutch software developer Share Dimension, and 100 percent of movie information website flicks.co.nz. It also embarked on a joint venture with China's Beijing Weying Technology Co (WePiao), whose backers include the Wechat/Tencent Group.

Last week, Vista announced it had bought a 60 percent stake in Mexico's Senda Direccion Tecnologica, giving it control of the Latin American reseller of the cinema analytics firm's services.

"The pipeline for future revenue remains solid," it said today, with expected growth from Movio and Powster as well as international growth from Vista China. "Further acquisition opportunities will continue to be explored. We continue to be confident in our ability to execute on our growth strategy."

The board declared a 2.4 cent interim dividend, with a Sept. 8 date, payable on Sept. 22.

The shares last traded at $5.50, and have fallen 1.8 percent this year.

(BusinessDesk)

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