Seeing Machines beats annual sales forecasts after record Q4

Transport safety software group Seeing Machines said full-year sales jumped by nearly a half after a record performance in its fourth quarter, which saw the number of cars on the road with its technology installed surpass the one-million mark.

In a trading update ahead of its official results in October, the Canberra-based company said revenues for the year to 30 June totalled $57.8m, up 49% year-on-year and ahead of the consensus forecast of $53.9m.

Meanwhile, annualised recurring revenues came in at $13.6m, up 27% on the previous year, helped by a strong performance from its aftermarket product, Guardian, which is now connected to over 51,000 vehicles worldwide.

Seeing Machines technology uses optical sensing tech for a host of vehicle safety tools, from monitoring basic driver attention to semi and autonomous driving.

"As Europe's General Safety Regulation comes into effect in 2024, the 'After Manufacture' market (factory fit for bus and truck vehicles) presents growing opportunities and Seeing Machines' plans are well advanced as commercial vehicle manufacturers seek to sell compliant vehicles," the company said.

During the fourth quarter, cars on the road jumped 143% year-on-year to 1.09m, while the production volumes for the full year totalled 638,951, up 101%.

Seeing Machines now has 15 contracts with 10 OEM automotive customers, including GM and Daimler, with a cumulative total initial lifetime revenue of $321m to 2028.

It has also expanded into aviation, with a recently agreed exclusive licence with aerospace tech giant Collins to jointly develop eye-tracking software for the industry.

"We can now expect Aviation to be a meaningful contributor to the company's revenue and looming regulatory deadlines are driving the rapid adoption of Driver Monitoring Systems by automotive manufacturers," said chief executive Paul McGlone.