4GLOBAL plc (LON:4GBL), a UK-based data, services and software company focused on major sporting events and the promotion and measurement of physical activity, has announced its audited final results for the year ended 31 March 2022.
Headline results for the year to 31 March 2022
| Audited | Audited | Change % | |
| 2022 | 2021 | ||
| £’000 | £’000 | ||
| Revenue | 3,640 | 2,679 | 35.9 |
| Gross profit | 2,616 | 1,827 | 43.1 |
| Adjusted profit from operations (Note 1) | 573 | 559 | 2.6 |
| Operating profit before government grant income | 573 | 504 | 13.6 |
| (Loss)/profit before tax | (1,889) | 372 | |
| Net cash | 3,051 | 775 |
Note 1: Adjusted profit is defined as statutory (loss)/profit from operations before depreciation, share based payment expense and exceptional items. See note 8.
Financial highlights
| • | Substantial revenue growth reflects successful shift into recurring subscription income (43% compared to 28% last year). Subscription revenues were up by 105% in the year whilst consultancy revenues were also up by 8.9%. |
| • | Loss before tax includes £2,072k of exceptional one-off items relating to the IPO as well as share based payments costs relating to share options granted at IPO of £170k which are unlikely to recur. |
| • | Year ended with a strong balance sheet to support further rapid growth |
| • | Successful AIM IPO raised £3.2m net of expenses and brought on board excellent supportive shareholders. |
Operational highlights
| • | Significant progress made in all three growth pillars – international expansion, “land and expand” and acquisitions. |
| • | Demand for the group’s products in Europe and North America continues to grow along with the data integrations we have started in these market places which will allow us to develop revenue generating opportunities. |
| • | Since IPO 4GLOBAL had landed a significant number of new clients and expanded on several key client relationships. |
| • | 4GLOBAL has developed a strong acquisition deal pipeline and is in active discussions with several potential complementary targets although no agreements have yet been reached. |
| • | Updated and released editions of both our social value calculator (“SVC”) which helps clients evaluate the social value created from investment in sport and physical activity and CitiHub which brings together participation data from active people in a city to help officials plan investment and intervention to increase activity levels. |
| • | Continued to build the team with new high quality appointments including the appointment of a Chief Customer Officer in March 2022. The team has been expanded as we scale up our offering and focus on our ambition to become the world’s leading data and insight company in sports and health data. |
Eloy Mazon, Chief Executive Officer of 4GLOBAL commented:
“This has been a transformative year for the Company following the successful AIM IPO and fundraising. The IPO has raised our profile and led to the rapid growth of our customer and data bases. With the many opportunities available to us and a great team in place, I look forward with confidence to further significant growth in the current year.”
CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT
As this is my first statement for the Group as Chairman after our successful IPO on AIM, I am pleased to announce our results for the year ended 31 March 2022. The Group has had a busy time since joining AIM on 7 December 2021, however, this has been built on a number of years of developing the business model and product platforms. The success of the business is down to the team, which is led by Eloy Mazon, who founded the business, but also all of the staff and management who continue to develop and push the business forward.
Results
The results for the year ended 31 March 2022 have been prepared as if 4GLOBAL PLC has been in existence since 1 April 2020 to allow comparative information to be available. Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2022 was £3.6m up 35.9% on the previous year. This increase was driven by project set up revenues within our subscription revenue stream. Subscription (recurring revenues) revenue increased by 36.0%.
Our alternative reporting (excluding, inter alia, the IPO costs) results for the year ended 31 March 2022 was an operating profit of £573,299 (2021: £559,018) an increase of 2.6%. This improvement is after investing in new hires and setting up the PLC Board.
Board and People
I would like to thank my fellow Board members for the guidance and contribution to the successful IPO and our results for the year. We have an ambitious growth strategy for the business and the insight from the Board will ensure we execute the strategy positively. Also, I have to thank our colleagues within the business for their hard work and professionalism and their vital support in delivering these results but setting the platform for the future.
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting will be held at 10:00am on Thursday 8 September 2022 at the Company’s offices, 5th Floor, Building 7 Chiswick Park, 566 Chiswick High Road, Chiswick, London, W4 5YG.
Outlook
4GLOBAL has many opportunities in the coming 12 to 24 months in both sports consultancy services and also our subscriptions led revenue streams. We will continue to expand with our land and expand strategy and develop new products as well as look for acquisition possibilities. The Board is confident about the Group’s current prospects.
Ian James
Chairman
6 July 2022
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S STATEMENT
The successful IPO earlier this financial year marked a new and exciting chapter for 4GLOBAL.
This achievement was made possible thanks to the enormous efforts of everyone at 4GLOBAL over the years during which we have established an incredible reputation in our sector worldwide and developed best-in-class data and insight products and services that are recognised as having transformed our customers’ businesses.
A key priority for us over the years has been to ensure that 4GLOBAL was built on a robust foundation with solid business principles around revenue and cash generation, profitability and sustainable growth. This is now reflected in our strong balance sheet and financial position.
From day one we set out to build a reputation in the market of “always delivering on our promises” and I am very pleased that in my first statement as CEO of an AIM quoted company, we have stayed true to this objective by delivering and exceeding on market expectations.
Our growth strategy is underpinned by three pillars; international expansion, “land & expand” clients and acquisition strategy. Significant progress has been made in this financial year against each of these pillars.
| 1) International expansion – our international expansion is in full execution mode. Going into our final quarter of the financial year (January to March 2022) we saw strong demand for our data & insight products in the European and North American market which were ahead of management’s expectations. In addition to strong demand, data acquisition in those regions is ahead of plan thus strengthening our market position and allowing us a quicker penetration of these markets. |
| 2) “Land and expand” clients – since the IPO we have landed a significant number of new clients and expanded on several client relationships which we already had in the UK, European, Middle East and North American markets. The current need for data and insight to navigate complex strategic, operational and investment challenges has generated strong demand for our data and insight products and services and this has been reflected in the revenue growth compared to last year. |
| 3) Acquisition strategy – we have a strong deal pipeline and we are in active conversations with several potential targets although no agreements have yet been reached. We are confident that we have identified strong candidates that will be complementary to the overall value and growth of 4GLOBAL. |
| Overall, excellent progress has been made in executing our strategy and we are pleased with the results it is generating. |
During the financial year we released updated editions of both our social value calculator (SVC) and CitiHub. Existing clients have migrated and new clients are being on-boarded onto the new platforms.
We have also been working on new revenue streams around data products that will expand our ability to grow faster and in a sustainable way.
Finally, we extended our operations to the North American Market, establishing 4GLOBAL Inc in the USA and a permanent presence with the opening of an office in Miami, Florida.
Summary and Outlook
We completed our first year as an AIM quoted company and in a strong financial position – profitable, cash generative and with a sound balance sheet – an excellent foundation on which to build in the current financial year.
Demand for our data and insight products continues to grow. The many significant challenges faced in our sector due to the uncertain global economic outlook, will, we believe, drive our customers to seek ever more business-critical insight and that is the very strong message we are getting from our customers.
We are encouraged by the prospects for the rest of the financial year and beyond as we seek to increase our penetration in the European and North American markets and develop new revenue streams associated with our data.
I would like to thank all our staff for their efforts in 2021/22 to realise the true potential of 4GLOBAL and growth capabilities.
Eloy Mazon
6 July 2022
