Kape to beat earnings expectations after strongest year ever

Digital security and privacy software company Kape said in an update on Tuesday that 2022 was its “strongest” year to date, with pro forma adjusted EBITDA now expected to exceed guidance.

The AIM-traded firm said revenues for the year were expected to be at the upper end of guidance at $623m, up from $230.7m year-on-year, while pro forma adjusted EBITDA was set to be “slightly above” guidance at $173m, rising from $78m in 2021.

As at year-end on 31 December, Kape was serving 7.4 million paying customers globally, making for a 12% increase from the previous year.

The board said the integration of ExpressVPN had exceeded expectations, adding that in under a year Kape had created “one unified team” across management, product, research and development, marketing and customer support.

It realised $9m of synergies in the year, and expected to realise the full planned operational synergies of $30m in 2023.

In September, the company completed a “significantly oversubscribed” capital raise of $222.5m (£190.14m), which the directors said reflected “strong support” from investors for the firm’s “ambitious” organic and inorganic growth strategy.

In addition, Kape secured new committed debt facilities of $425m in November with its existing syndicate of lenders and two new banks, taking adjusted leverage at the end of the year to below 1x.

The board said the new facility replaced all existing debt facilities, and generated around $20m in net debt reduction, $8m in savings on financing costs, and would provide long-term financing to support Kape's continued growth.

“2022 was Kape's most successful year to-date - we not only delivered substantial profitable growth and executed on our largest integration exercise to date, we have also been able to further strengthen our balance sheet,” said chief executive officer Ido Erlichman.

“Our overperformance, delivered against a turbulent financial backdrop, further reinforces the growing demand for superior privacy and security products.

“Kape's achievements are a testament to the quality of our products and the determination of the teams who are delivering them - Kape is now in an enhanced position to accelerate our ambitious strategy. “

The company said it would report its results for the year ended 31 December on 21 March.

At the close on Tuesday, shares in Kape Technologies were up 0.17% at 298p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.