Altium ends financial year with continued solid growth, strong cash balance

Revenue for the full year ending 30 June, 2007 was $53.4 million, up 18% from $45.2 million reported for the corresponding period a year ago. For the financial year ending 30 June, 2007, the balance of revenue not yet recognized was $9.1 million, up 72% from a balance of $5.3 million from the corresponding period as at a year ago.

The cash balance as at 30 June, 2007 was $10.7 million, up 68% from $6.4 million at the corresponding date a year ago. Profit before tax is $1.6 million, up 36%.

Comments from Nick Martin, CEO of Altium Limited

Nick Martin, CEO of Altium Limited, commented: “Altium’s software helps electronic designers incorporate new technologies into their products and get these to market faster than their competitors. As we continue to help organizations make the transition to this new unified approach to electronics design, our confidence continues to grow.

“This year’s results are a reflection of the growing traction of our solutions and although there is still much work to do, the products we offer today provide our customers with a clear step into this new approach to designing electronics”.

Comments from Darren Charles, CFO of Altium Limited
“Our business generates revenue through three primary sources – selling new licenses, selling upgrades to earlier versions, or having customers take up software assurance contracts.

“All of these grew in 2006/7: licence sales grew by 13%, software assurance and maintenance sales grew by 76% and our Altium Designer 6 user base grew by 87%. As important is how these results are reflected in our financial reports.

“Software assurance is a contract that gives customers the right to receive all upgrades that we release during the term of the contract. A contract term typically last 12 months and we receive payment at the commencement of the contract.

“Despite booking the sale and receiving the payment at the start of the contract, for accounting purposes we are required to defer the recognition of the revenue associated with sales of software assurance/maintenance. The effect of this can be seen in the movement in our deferred revenue account on the balance sheet.

“We started the year with deferred revenue of $5.3 million, and ended it with $9.1 million. This is $9.1 million of revenue that we will recognize in the 2007/2008 financial year, but for which we have already received the cash. This deferred recognition of revenue manifests itself as the difference between our reported sales ($57.5 million) and our reported revenue ($53.4 million). This is also one of the major reasons why our operating cash flow had a larger increase compared with other measures of performance, such as profit before and after tax, and it feeds directly into our cash balance as at the end of the financial year.

“In view of these results, we proposed to make an improved return to investors. This will be in the form of a reduction of share capital of 6 cents per share, subject to shareholder approval at Altium’s forthcoming annual general meeting.”