Smart Metering pleased after year of investment

The AIM-traded firm said revenue increased by 18% to £79.6m, with total annualised recurring revenue improving 38% to £57.0m.

For gas, the company said meter recurring revenue increased 15% to £36.1m and data recurring revenue was also up 15% to £3.0m, while in electricity, Smart Metering said meter recurring revenue sirged 283% to £11.2m, with data recurring revenue growing 56% to £6.7m.

Gross profit was up 9% at £40.4m, and the company’s gross profit margin decreased four percentage points to 51%.

Smart Metering said its EBITDA was ahead 19% at £38.8m, with the EBITDA margin improving one percentage point to 49%.

Its profit before tax dropped 2% to £18.0m, with earnings per share down to 16.17p from 17.33p in 2016.

The board declared a final dividend of 3.46p per ordinary share, totalling 5.20p for the full year - an increase of 27%.

Net debt as at 31 December was £36.5m - down from £94.2m at the start of the year - with access to cash and undrawn facilities of £243.5m, rising from £55.8m.

“2017 has been a year of investment in our business - building capacity to grow and deliver for our customers, particularly in the domestic smart meter rollout,” said chief executive Alan Foy.

“We enter 2018 with a solid financial platform and are well positioned to continue making progress in our core markets.”