Albert Technologies Ltd – Update on Trading
Albert Technologies (AIM: ALB.L) today provides an update on trading for the first four months of the current financial year and on the expectations of the Company’s management for the year as a whole.
As previously reported the Company made significant progress in 2018 in successfully deploying Albert with some of the world’s leading brands and agencies, and management is highly encouraged by the potential of our current client base, as well as the pipeline of opportunities.
Since the start of the year, a number of our existing Enterprise clients have continued to expand their activity with us, whilst others are in active discussions with us regarding expanding their activity in the coming months.
In addition, we started 2019 with a dozen additional Enterprise clients in the pipeline and we expect to commence activity with the majority of these potential clients by the end of the current year. The Company’s management believes that each of these potential Enterprise clients carry significant revenue growth potential.
On the Agency front, in addition to our existing relationships with 3 of the top global agencies, which are expected to yield increased activity in the coming year, we expect to add some mid-sized agencies to our client portfolio in the near-term, as well as to continue and develop new trading relationships with other global agencies.
As for actual performance, revenue growth in the year to date has been slower than anticipated, principally as a result of longer ramp up time with the Enterprise clients, such that revenues are similar to those for the first four months of 2018. The Company’s management expects growth to pick up in the coming months based on their assessment of the existing client base and the sales pipeline.
Taking into account the performance for the start of the year, and the fact that as previously stated Enterprise clients’ sales, onboarding and expansion of activity, takes longer than for our previous roster of midsize and small businesses, management anticipates that revenues for 2019 are unlikely to reach current market expectations, which forecast revenue to more than double over 2018. Whilst the Company’s management expects that the outcome for 2019 should show significant improvement over the performance achieved in 2018, it remains difficult to accurately predict short term revenue outcomes.
The Company maintains strict cash control and we have taken active steps to reduce our cost base and will continue to do so in order to align the Company’s cost base with its current growth pace and to preserve cash.
The Company’s management is focused on delivering shareholder value and reiterates its confidence about the longer-term market opportunity for Albert and the Company’s continued prospects.