LoopUp FY earnings and revenue fall, conversion delays to weigh on 2022 trading

Cloud communications provider LoopUp group said on Tuesday that both revenue and underlying earnings had slumped during 2021 and cautioned that a longer than expected lag in converting bookings to revenue in its cloud telephony unit would again take its toll on the firm's top line in 2022.

LoopUp said it now expects to report full-year revenues of £19.5m, down from £50.2m in 2020, and £900,000 in underlying earnings, a marked drop when compared to the £15.3m brought in a year earlier.

The AIM-listed group also noted it had ended the year with gross cash of £5.5m, down from £12.1m, and net debt of £2.5m, up from £700,000.

Looking forward, LoopUp expects a "strong performance" in new cloud telephony contract wins in 2021, with the firm securing 31 new wins during the year, to improve further to "at least an additional 50" during 2022.

However, due to a long lag in converting bookings to revenue in the cloud telephony division, combined with continued expected pressure on its remote meetings business, LoopUp expects full-year 2022 revenues to be in the £15.0m-16.0m range.

As of 1000 GMT, LoopUp shares had sunk 19.62% to 10.45p.