Losses narrow at Seeing Machines, aftermarket segment suffers

Driver monitoring technology specialist Seeing Machines reported total first-half operational revenue of $24.4m on Monday, making for 54% growth from the prior period.

The AIM-traded company said its automotive and aviation OEM revenue saw the most significant increase, rising 268% year-on-year in the six months ended 31 December to $14m.

Higher margin royalty revenue, derived from cars on the road, increased 102% to $3.1m.

Additionally, the firm said it earned revenue of $5.4m from licence fees earned from its exclusive collaboration agreement with Magna - a stark contrast to the previous year's nil earnings from the partnership.

Annual recurring revenue increased to $11.9m from $10.2m, and aftermarket fleet and off-road revenue was $10.3m, down from $12m.

Seeing Machines recorded a gross profit of $15.5m for the period - a 109% year-on-year increase.

Its net loss narrowed by 47% to $5.4m year-on-year, with the company describing a strong balance sheet, as cash at period end on 31 December stood at $52.2m, up from $40.5m at the end of June.

Looking ahead, the firm said its total addressable market was expanding, underpinned by structural drivers and regulatory tailwinds, presenting an “exciting opportunity” to grow market share and deliver long-term growth.

Seeing Machines said it expected financial performance for the 2023 financial year to be in line with consensus expectations.

“Transport safety has moved meaningfully up the regulatory agenda around the world and our market leadership, scalability and balance sheet strength means we are ideally positioned to deliver on our business objectives,” said chief executive officer Paul McGlone.

“Whether inside the car, cabin or cockpit, our mission-critical technology is achieving strong take-up by a range of customers.

“Whilst we have contended with some industry wide supply chain challenges relating to automotive manufacturing, we expect the impact of these to ease on our aftermarket business in the second half of the year, and are confident of meeting 2023 financial year expectations.”

At 1457 GMT, shares in Seeing Machines were down 2.55% in London at 7.25p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.