Blur Group talks up Q4 efficiency improvements

Blur Group was talking up its efficiency and cost improvements in its fourth quarter trading update on Wednesday, as it warmed up the market ahead of its full-year results.

The AIM-traded company said it expected its 2015 revenue to be in line with market expectations,with EBITDA slightly ahead of expectations due to quarterly improvements.

Its underlying cash burn, excluding foreign exchange movements, was reduced to an underlying $1.5m (£1.05m) in the three months to 31 December 2015, down 58% on the previous quarter.

At the end of the period, Blur said its total cash reserves stood at $7.1m, with its cost base further reduced as its platform matured and related processes and efficiencies continued to improve.

"During the period, the group continued with its focus on securing more mature, loyal and high quality enterprise customers with a higher propensity for repeat business," the company's board said in a statement.

"As the group's enterprise strategy progresses, the board anticipates that such customers will continue to form a larger part of our business," it added.

The board said it managed to improve operational efficiencies even further in the fourth quarter, which resulted in a 58% reduction in underlying cash burn in the period when combined with the other structural changes made in the second half of the year.

"As we start 2016, we are confident that the group is better positioned to exploit its enterprise strategy and help customers worldwide eliminate waste and inefficiencies in their procurement processes," said Blur Group CEO Philip Letts.

The group described its operation as providing the world's first enterprise services platform and marketplace, with over 65,000 businesses adopting Blur to buy or sell services online.