Smart Metering Systems' revenues rise to almost £100m

Smart Metering Systems (SMS) on Thursday reported an increase in annual revenues, though statutory profits dropped as exceptional items soared.

Revenue for 2018 came in at £98.5m, an increase of 24% compared to the year before, as recurring sales from electricity meters increased by 81% to £20.3m and electricity data recurring revenue grew 34% to £9.0m.

Meanwhile, gas meter recurring revenue rose19% to £42.9m and gas data recurring revenue increased by 6% to £3.1m.

The AIM traded company recorded a profit before tax of £5.4m for 2018, down from £18.0m in the year before, though profit before tax and exceptional items increased by 12% to £22.5m after exceptional items increased from £2.0m to £17.1m, reflecting the reduced carrying value of meter assets, predominantly in the group's traditional meter portfolio.

Alan Foy, chief executive of SMS, said: "2018 has been a year of continued investment and growth, and I am especially pleased with the way in which we have brought our end to end solutions to the UK's energy suppliers shown by the significant contract wins announced in the last 6 months. Building long term partnerships with our customers is key to our success. We enter 2019 with a strong order book and are well positioned to continue making progress in our core markets."

Contract wins include exclusive arrangements with First Utility (Shell Energy) and Good Energy, as well as framework agreements with Co-op Energy, Bristol Energy and Octopus Energy, while the company also landed an agreement with SSE Energy Supply to supply and install up to 200,000 SMETS2 non-domestic meters to its small business customers.

A statement from the company said it is in a "strong position" to meet upcoming deployment demands after having successfully secured access to funding of up to £420m over the next five years and therefore expects to retain momentum through the rollout and obtain additional market share of the meter portfolio in the UK.

Smart Metering Systems' shares were up 2.72% at 585.50p at 0919 BST.