Smart Metering pleased after year of investment

Smart Metering Systems announced its final results for the 12 months ended 31 December on Tuesday, reporting continued growth across all business areas.

The AIM-traded firm said revenue increased by 18% to £79.6m, with total annualised recurring revenue improving 38% to £57.0m.

For gas, the company said meter recurring revenue increased 15% to £36.1m and data recurring revenue was also up 15% to £3.0m, while in electricity, Smart Metering said meter recurring revenue sirged 283% to £11.2m, with data recurring revenue growing 56% to £6.7m.

Gross profit was up 9% at £40.4m, and the company’s gross profit margin decreased four percentage points to 51%.

Smart Metering said its EBITDA was ahead 19% at £38.8m, with the EBITDA margin improving one percentage point to 49%.

Its profit before tax dropped 2% to £18.0m, with earnings per share down to 16.17p from 17.33p in 2016.

The board declared a final dividend of 3.46p per ordinary share, totalling 5.20p for the full year - an increase of 27%.

Net debt as at 31 December was £36.5m - down from £94.2m at the start of the year - with access to cash and undrawn facilities of £243.5m, rising from £55.8m.

“2017 has been a year of investment in our business - building capacity to grow and deliver for our customers, particularly in the domestic smart meter rollout,” said chief executive Alan Foy.

“We enter 2018 with a solid financial platform and are well positioned to continue making progress in our core markets.”