iTWire - Listed Tech

Hitachi Construction Machinery to invest $10m in Envirosuite

2024-09-02T12:20:29+10:00

Australian-listedf environmental intelligence technology company Envirosuite has announced that Hitachi Construction Machinery has agreed to invest $10m to acquire approximately 12% of Envirosuite’s share capital at a price of $0.058 per share.

Enviroauite says the deal is in accordance with a subscription agreement signed earlier today, withthe price representing a premium of 29% to latest closing price and a premium of 32% to the 7-day VWAP.

Under the Subscription Agreement, the shares will be issued in two tranches, with the first tranche of 158.5 million shares expected to be issued on or around 4 September 2024 under Envirosuite’s available ASX Listing Rule 7.1 placement capacity.

The second tranche is subject to shareholder approval under ASX Listing Rule 10.11, which will be sought at Envirosuite’s annual general meeting later this year.

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Enviroauite says funds from this strategic investment will be used to advance the Company’s EVS Industrial solutions and market penetration particularly in the mining sector, with a specific focus on delivering solutions that assist customers with site productivity improvements and their ESG priorities, including GHG reductions, through digital technology.
Envirosuite CEO, Jason Cooper said:

"We are thrilled to be launching into the top tier of global mining services with Hitachi Construction Machinery and their subsidiaries. Together, we expect to set new standards in operational management and environmental responsibility for the Mining industry globally which aligns strongly with both companies’ visions for a sustainable world.”

“The $10 million investment and Collaboration Agreement represents definitive industry validation of our technology at the highest level, and will showcase our ability to help customers achieve their productivity and ESG goals through an innovative site-wide digital solutions approach. This is a significant untapped opportunity in the Mining industry." Hitachi Construction Machinery Vice President and Executive Officer, President of Mining Business Unit Eiji Fukunishi said:

“We are excited to be investing in a strategic relationship with Envirosuite. Their decades of experience and commitment to environmental and social responsibility while helping customers achieve their productivity goals aligns perfectly with Hitachi’s vision for ‘ensuring a prosperous land and society for the future, and contributing toward realizing a safe and sustainable society’.

“Envirosuite’s culture of honesty, integrity and commitment to customers and the communities we all serve is the foundation of both of our businesses. Through this investment, we hope to leverage Envirosuite’s solutions, data scientists’ analytical capabilities, and its findings and know-how in subscription business in order to further refine Hitachi Construction Machinery’s solutions in the Mining business."

Envirosuite also announced that Hitachi GM New Business Strategy and Wenco executive VP Eric Winsborrow has been appointed as a director of Envirosuite
Envirosuite said Eric Winsborrow brings over 30 years’ Silicon Valley experience to the Envirosuite Board of Directors, “introducing next generation technology solutions to global markets for Networking, Cyber Security and Industrial IoT”.

Envirosuite notes that Eric Winsborrow is currently responsible for helping to create and execute the long-term digital strategy for Hitachi Construction Machinery and group companies.

“Prior to Wenco, Mr. Winsborrow was the CEO of Distrix Networks, a company that developed secure next generation sensor networks for the US Government and Industrial IoT customers worldwide. Mr. Winsborrow was also CEO of Shadow Networks, an advanced cyber security company using Software Defined Networks to deceive attackers that were already operating inside government and corporate networks.

“Prior to running startups, Mr. Winsborrow served in senior product leadership positions of leading Silicon Valley companies such as Cisco Systems, Symantec and McAfee, introducing disruptive new technologies to customers globally, and served as an Entrepreneur in Residence for Yaletown Venture Partners, performing due diligence on over one hundred technology firms.”

Eric Winsborrow majored in engineering physics and economics at McMaster University in Canada, and has an MBA in International Business from McMaster University and the Institute for International Studies in Japan.

Envirosuite CEO, Jason Cooper said: “We are very pleased to welcome Eric to the board. He has helped steward the investment and collaboration with Hitachi Construction Machinery, and we deeply value his experience and contact network particularly in the North American and Asian regions. We look forward to working with Eric as we move forward into this new era for the Company.”

‘Strong organic growth’, expansion boosts telco Swoop revenue for FY 23-24

2024-08-29T11:27:02+10:00

Residential infrastructure, Internet Service Provider and mobile virtual network operator Swoop has announced a 14 percent increase in revenue year-on-year to $88.9 million and an underlying EBITDA of $16.4 million - up 6.4 percent year-on-year within its core-business.

The Australian-listed telco (ASX:SWP) also recorded an 18 percent growth in subscriber numbers to 179,092, demonstrating what it says was “strong organic growth for the challenger brand”.

In its third full year of being listed on the ASX, the company notes that it continued to integrate and deliver organic growth from the previous acquisitions, with the most recent being Moose Mobile in November 2022, “achieving significant synergies and benefits from operating as a combined integrated entity”.

“Since the acquisition of Moose Mobile in November 2022, the company has continued to grow its national mobile virtual network operator presence. At the time of the transaction announcement, Moose provided just over 94,000 mobile services on the Optus network to customers across Australia. This has now grown to over 131,000 services at the end of FY24,” says Swoop.

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“This coupled with significant cross-sell opportunities and strong cash generation from the revenue and cost synergies of the combined organisation, has demonstrated the success of Swoop’s strategy, through both acquisition and organic growth opportunities.”

Alex West, Swoop Chief Executive Officer, said: “It is immensely gratifying to see our strategy come to fruition. We have managed to remain a highly competitive reseller while simultaneously advancing the development of our own infrastructure, which will drive long-term gross margin and profitability. Our significant progress in automation and the delivery of self-service options is reflected in the number of customer service awards we’ve received.

“Swoop has achieved record sales throughout the year across its key products of fixed wireless broadband, NBN, mobile and voice. The sustained increase in the group’s revenue this year, fuelled by organic growth, demonstrates the strong demand for dependable internet and mobile services with one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings in Australia.

“The key to our success has been the development of our team; in FY24, we saw further improvements in employee engagement, which has directly contributed to our ability to execute our strategic objectives.

“At the tail end of FY24, we also announced our move into residential fibre infrastructure, alongside our fixed wireless products, delivering high margin services to our customers. With the start of the FY25 also seeing the company sign its largest deal to date with a $36m long term contract to provide Swoop owned fibre infrastructure to a Nasdaq listed global tech company, further expanding our reach in greater Melbourne to key digital infrastructure areas as well as new developments as targets for Swoop Fibre Broadband.

“Along with the Board, the Executive and the entire Swoop team are looking forward to further success into FY25 and beyond,” West concluded.

The report cites numerous performance highlights in the FY23-24 contributing to the success and growth of the business, including:

Revenue of $88.9 million, up 14% on FY23.
18% increase in total subscriber numbers from June 2023 to 179,092, all organic growth.
Underlying EBITDA1 remains strong at $16.4 million. Core Business EBITDA2 was $15.2 million a 6.4% YoY increase.
Delivered a $10.7 million Operating Cash Flow3 in the year.
Opex as a percentage of Revenue is now 21% a reduction of 18% over the last 4 years. Announced the divestment of the wholesale voice business in June 2024 for $9.0 million, with the transaction completing in July 2024.
$17.3 million of available funding (including $11.8 million of cash) as at 30 June 2024. Which excludes the wholesale voice business divestment proceeds received in July 2024.
Significant enhancements in service performance led to multiple high-profile customer service awards in FY24.
Continued robust expansion of owned Fixed Wireless infrastructure in regional Australia, with 14 new sites added in Victoria and extended coverage in WA.
Swoop now ranks among Australia's top 10 Enterprise Ethernet providers, boasting one of the country's largest nbn Enterprise Ethernet networks.
Initiated the build of a 300-kilometre owned fibre network - resulting coverage includes 42,000 businesses and around 450,000 residential premises, supported by a $36 million long term contract with a key Nasdaq listed global technology company.

Kogan regains financial momentum as it reports 'strong' subscriber growth

2024-08-26T11:13:17+10:00

Online retailer Kogan reported that its First subscribers grew to over 502,000 compared to 401,000 in the prior year, underpinning its "return to profitability."

Kogan First is an "opt-in premium membership service" that customers can add to their cart via Kogan's sign-up box during checkout.

On top of its subscriber growth, Kogan also reported an improvement across all of its key financial metrics, which include:

- Gross sales increased by 2.1% year-on-year (YoY) to $63.9 million, a swing from full-year gross sales decline of 4.8%
- Revenue increased by 15.6% YoY to $40.3 million, a swing from a full-year drop of 6.1% in FY23
- Gross profit up by 23% in July, similar to its full-year FY23 growth of 23.3%

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Kogan's overall platform-based sales contribution increased by 62%, up from 57% last year. This excludes Kogan.com's New Zealand gaming e-commerce subsidiary Mighty Ape.

Commenting on Kogan's financial performance over FY24, Kogan founder and CEO Ruslan Kogan says, "Our business returned to a position of profitability and strength, having navigated through the previous two and a half years of turbulence."

The turbulence the Kogan founder and CEO is referring to is the company's shaky financial performance in FY23 that saw sales and revenue dip from $1.8 billion and $718.5 million to $844.4 million and $489.5 million, recording a drop of 28.4% and 31.9% respectively.

The decline was a result of soft trading conditions brought on by cost-of-living pressures and interest rate rises throughout the year.

Another problem that Kogan encountered was overstocking and inventory problems in April 2021 that affected its growth.

"We got through this by restructuring and improving our operations, focusing on growing the right areas of our business, rapidly growing platform-based sales, and most importantly, investing in our loyal customer base. This has helped put Kogan.com in its strongest position ever," the Kogan CEO says.

The CEO says that it is "doubling down on its commitment" to affordability and value as response to the ongoing cost-of-living pressures affecting customers.

"This was at the core of our brand when we launched 18 years ago, and we understand the economic challenges our customers are facing. Everything we do is aimed at enabling our customers to live their best lives without having to strain their budgets. You’ll see this play out in all our investments and launches going forward."

"Our team’s obsession with delivering remarkable value for our customers has underpinned the growth of Kogan.com into the top performing Australian e-commerce company for nearly two decades. These efforts are more crucial than ever, and we’re primed to deliver again for our customers in FY25.”

Renesas completes acquisition of Altium

2024-08-02T10:38:47+10:00

Advanced electronics design systems company Renesas Electronics Corporation has announced the successful completion of the acquisition of global software company Altium.

The definitive agreement to acquire Altium was announced on February 15, 2024.

Renesas says the combination sets the foundation for Renesas and Altium to create an “innovative electronics system design and lifecycle management platform” which will deliver “integration and standardization of various electronic design data and functions and enhanced component lifecycle management, while enabling seamless digital iteration of design processes to increase overall productivity” - and brings “significantly faster innovation and lowers barriers to entry for system designers by reducing development resources and inefficiencies”.

"This is a historical milestone for both Renesas and Altium as we take another important step forward in bringing enhanced user experience for electronics system designers,” said Hidetoshi Shibata, CEO of Renesas.

“The integrated and open electronics system design and lifecycle management platform we aim to build together will make electronics accessible to broader market, for any enterprises regardless of their size or industry.

“I want to reaffirm that our commitment to upholding data security and compliance of the Altium customers will continue to be our top priority. With the addition of Altium’s design software and cloud platform capabilities, we are excited to change the future of electronics system design with Aram and his industry-leading, talented software engineering team”

With the transaction now closed, Altium is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Renesas, and Altium CEO Aram Mirkazemi - who concurrently serves as CEO of Altium - has assumed the role of Senior Vice President and Head of Renesas’ Software & Digitalization. .

"This is a pivotal moment for Altium and marks the beginning of an exciting future with Renesas,” said Aram Mirkazemi, CEO of Altium. “With Renesas’ support and expertise, we are looking forward to accelerating the cloud-enablement of all industry processes associated with electronics design and development. This will make electronics accessible to a broader market and lay the foundation for software defined products.”

Footnote: Renesas' acquisition of Altium has been effected today by way of a Scheme of Arrangement under Australian law (“Scheme”). Under the terms of the Scheme, Renesas Electronics NSW Pty Ltd, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Renesas, acquired all of the outstanding shares of Altium for A$68.50 in cash per share, for a total equity value of approximately A$9.1 billion (approximately 887.9 billion yen at an exchange rate of 97 yen to the A$). Renesas funded the acquisition through bank loans. As part of the implementation of the Scheme, Altium ordinary shares were suspended from trading on the Australian Securities Exchange at the close of trading on July 19, 2024, and Altium will be removed from the Official List of the Australian Securities Exchange at the close of trading on August 2, 2024.

About Renesas

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) empowers a safer, smarter and more sustainable future where technology helps make our lives easier. The leading global provider of microcontrollers, Renesas combines our expertise in embedded processing, analog, power and connectivity to deliver complete semiconductor solutions. These Winning Combinations accelerate time to market for automotive, industrial, infrastructure and IoT applications, enabling billions of connected, intelligent devices that enhance the way people work and live. Learn more at renesas.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, YouTube, and Instagram.

About Altium

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) is a global software company headquartered in San Diego, California, who are accelerating the pace of innovation through electronics. For over 30 years, Altium has delivered software that maximizes the productivity of PCB designers and electrical engineers. From individual inventors to multinational corporations, more PCB designers and engineers choose Altium software to design and realize electronics-based products than other products.

Archer and EPFL advance quantum technology with a new chip for precision sensing

2024-03-25T23:28:39+11:00

COMPANY NEWS: Semiconductor company Archer Materials has advanced its quantum chip project by building an integrated pulsed electron spin resonance (p-ESR) microsystem on a chip to detect and materials for important signs of quantum electron spin manipulation at a very small scale.

Developed with university and research partner École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, the p-ESR chip helps move Archer towards developing qubit (quantum bits of information) devices. Achieving qubit control and readout is required for quantum computing.

For now, Archer and EPFL intend to use the p-ESR to perform complex measurements involving the potential electron spin manipulation of Archer’s 12CQ quantum materials. From this, Archer will be able to explore opportunities in developing quantum sensors, advanced spectrometers, and analytical devices, opening new capability pathways on the road to building its 12CQ quantum chip.

Dr Mohammad Choucair, CEO of Archer (ASX: AXE) said that the p-ESR chip is a cutting-edge technology development in the industry.

“Archer and EPFL have engineered something new by creating the p-ESR chip. Not only is it a valuable tool in advancing Archer’s 12CQ chip project, but it opens a new pathway toward precision sensing in integrated and portable sensors for electronic devices.

“The p-ESR microsystem capabilities are integral for advancing Archer’s technology development and research in quantum materials related technologies,” said Dr Choucair.

Dr Choucair also said that this work and research helps move the 12CQ chip along in its early- stage development towards potentially enabling quantum in mobile devices.

“To get quantum computing to work, you normally need to deep freeze the qubits to close t zero Kelvin for them to function.

“At Archer, we’ve been able to achieve quantum coherence, a precursor to qubit functionality, at room temperature in air and have recorded unprecedented quantum coherence times for the unique 12CQ chip material. Quantum coherence time is the time-window for processing electron spin information in solid-state quantum electronic devices.” said Dr Choucair.

Dr Choucair said that working with EPFL is a strong example of utilising its fabless commercialisation model.

“As a fabless chip company, we know how important our industry relationships are in developing our R&D and design of our technologies. EPFL is a research partner that algins with our expertise and mission to usher in the next generation of technologies.” said Dr Choucair.

The technical details of the work related to the p-ESR development will be made publicly available as a scientific article in an open-access repository this week.

About Archer
Archer is a technology company that operates within the semiconductor industry. The Company is developing advanced semiconductor devices, including chips relevant to quantum technology medical diagnostics. Archer utilises its global partnerships to develop these technologies for potential deployment and use across multiple industries. .

Macquarie Data Centres receives 'green light’ for new AI-ready Sydney data centre

2024-01-22T03:17:31+11:00

Australian-listed Macquarie Technology Group (ASX: MAQ) has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Macquarie Data Centres Pty Ltd (MDC), has received confirmation from the Independent Planning Commission NSW that it has favourably determined MDC’s state significant development application for the construction of a third data centre at the Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus (IC3 SuperWest).

MAQ also says that selected early works are presently being undertaken on the site, and commencement of the construction of Stage 1 remains subject to Board approval, and IC3 Super West will bring the total campus IT load of the company’s flagship Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus in Sydney’s North Zone up to a potential 63 Megawatts (MW) - and, the facility will be able to accommodate the power and cooling demands of cloud and AI technology which have increasingly higher-density workloads.

IC3 Super West will optimise advanced new technology, such as liquid cooling and monitoring systems. Liquid cooling is a more energy efficient alternative to traditional air cooling that uses liquid to cool servers.

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CEO and Founder of Macquarie Technology Group, David Tudehope, says: “AI is the next significant megatrend for data centres and the digital economy, driving higher power density and demand for greater capacity. IC3 Super West represents the next phase of growth for Macquarie Data Centres as we become the secure and sovereign home of hyperscalers, cloud and AI customers in Australia.”

Group Executive of Macquarie Data Centres, David Hirst, says: “Like Macquarie Data Centres’ other facilities, we intend for IC3 Super West to be Certified Strategic by the Australian Federal Government making it a secure and future-proofed choice for customers who want to do business in Australia.”

MAQ notes that the Australian Government recently announced its new Cyber Security Strategy to fortify the nation’s cyber security, and this strategy outlines how certified, sovereign data centres, such as IC3 Super West, have become an important fixture in the nation's critical infrastructure.

Macquarie Data Centres is home to two out of the three world’s largest hyperscalers, 42 per cent of the Australian Federal Government and many multinational enterprises.

BluGlass completes GaNWorks acquisition, ‘commences operations’

2024-01-16T01:31:17+11:00

Australian-listed global semiconductor developer BluGlass Limited has completed its acquisition of contract manufacturer GaNWorks Foundry, Inc., following the successful installation and validation of core gallium nitride (GaN) wafer processing equipment at the company’s laser production fab in Silicon Valley.

BluGlass says testing has confirmed the n-side wafer metalisation, wafer thinning, and bar cleave equipment is meeting GaNWorks’ operational benchmarks in-house - and product validation of new GaN lasers made at BluGlass’ Silicon Valley fab is also underway.

“Wafer processing equipment acquired from GaNWorks Foundry is now installed, commissioned and meeting operational benchmarks in BluGlass’ Silicon Valley production facility,” notes BluGlass, adding that “wafer fab vertical integration” was now complete with ongoing process improvements across the manufacturing supply chain.

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BluGlass (ASX: BLG) CEO Jim Haden said, “Our acquisition of GaNWorks’ specialist wafer processing equipment, manufacturing process transfer, and experienced GaN engineers will fast-track development and production cycles, and deliver significant cost savings over the long-term.

“We have moved quickly to bring these complex processes In-house, having now completed process verification tests, and commenced validation of our first vertically integrated laser lots.

“We are already seeing the benefits of having all processes in-house under our operational control, enabling us to quickly identify additional process optimisation opportunities, which are expected to significantly enhance production yield, reliability, and throughput.

“With our wafer fab vertical integration completed, we are continuing to refine processes across the manufacturing supply chain to further improve laser performance, reliability, and repeatability.”

HPE Aruba to acquire Juniper Networks

2024-01-10T12:10:37+11:00

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE / HPE Aruba) and Juniper Networks have announced a definitive agreement under which HPE will acquire Juniper in an all-cash transaction for $US 40 per share, representing an equity valuation of approximately $US 14 billion. HPE says the acquisition will accelerate its AI-driven innovation.

HPE Aruba says combining its portfolio with Juniper's will advance the shift towards higher-growth solutions and strengthen its high-margin networking business. The result will accelerate HPE's sustainable profitable growth strategy, and the transaction is expected to be accretive to non-GAAP EPS and free cash flow in the first year post-close.

In practical terms, the acquisition will double the size of HPE Aruba's networking business and create a new networking leader with a comprehensive portfolio that presents customers and partners with a compelling new choice to drive business value.

In addition, the explosion of AI and hybrid cloud-driven business is accelerating demand for secure, unified technology solutions that connect, protect, and analyse companies' data from edge to cloud. HPE believes these trends, and AI specifically, will continue to be the most disruptive workloads for companies and thus has been aligning its portfolio to capitalise on these substantial IT trends that have networking as a critical connective component.

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The combination of HPE Aruba and Juniper portfolios will boost HPE's edge-to-cloud strategy and enable it to lead in an AI-native environment, based on a foundational cloud-native architecture. The acquisition will provide customers of all sizes with a complete, secure portfolio that enables the networking architecture necessary to manage and simplify the expanding and increasingly complex connectivity needs.

Juniper CEO Rami Rahim will lead the combined HPE networking business, reporting directly to HPE President and CEO Antonio Neri.

“HPE’s acquisition of Juniper represents an important inflection point in the industry and will change the dynamics in the networking market and provide customers and partners with a new alternative that meets their toughest demands,” said Neri. “This transaction will strengthen HPE’s position at the nexus of accelerating macro-AI trends, expand our total addressable market, and drive further innovation for customers as we help bridge the AI-native and cloud-native worlds, while also generating significant value for shareholders. I am excited to welcome Juniper’s talented employees to our team as we bring together two companies with complementary portfolios and proven track records of driving innovation within the industry.”

“Our multi-year focus on innovative, secure AI-native solutions has driven Juniper Networks’ outstanding performance,” said Rahim. “We have successfully delivered exceptional user experiences and simplified operations, and by joining HPE, I believe we can accelerate the next phase of our journey. In addition, this combination maximises value for our shareholders through a meaningful all-cash premium. We look forward to working with the talented HPE team to drive innovation for enterprise, service provider and cloud customers across all domains, including campus, branch, data centre and the wide area network.”

The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies. The transaction is expected to be funded based on financing commitments for $US 14 billion in term loans. It is expected to close in late calendar year 2024 or early calendar year 2025, subject to regulatory approvals, approval of the transaction by Juniper shareholders, and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. The combination is expected to achieve operating efficiencies and run-rate annual cost synergies of $US 450 million within 36 months post-close.

Image by naor eliyahu from Pixabay

TechnologyOne rolls on with consecutive profits, ‘record’ SaaS fees

2023-11-22T09:49:25+11:00

ERP Software as a Service (SaaS) provider TechnologyOne has announced its fourteenth consecutive year of record profit, record revenues, and record SaaS fees, with CEO Ed Chung noting that the company has consistently delivered strong results since listing on the ASX in 1999.

Announcing the TechnologyOne (ASX: TNE) financial results for the year ended 30 September 2023, Chung, said “our ability to deliver these results for 20+ years is due to our clear vision, strategy, culture and our ongoing investment in R&D, which has been validated in March as we entered the ASX 100 index.”

“Our ARR growth of 23% and profit growth of 16% is driven by the significant value proposition of our global SaaS ERP solution for new and existing customers. Pleasingly, existing customers are also continuing to expand their use of our global SaaS ERP solution to streamline their operations, as shown by our Net Revenue Retention (NRR) of 119%. I am also pleased to share that we are on track to surpass $500 million ARR by FY25, bringing our medium-term guidance a year forward.

“With strong results and a confidence in our sales pipeline, we made additional investments in all our pillars for growth to enable us to continue to double in size every five years beyond $500 million ARR. In R&D we increased investment by 21% to accelerate the development of our ground-breaking Digital Experience Platform (DxP) and our transformative AppBuilder product, the latter resonated so strongly with our customers that we are speeding up delivery to release faster than our original targets. In the UK, we increased the size of our sales and consulting team as a result of the early success of SaaS+, with the region’s ARR up 52%. All of these additional investments will support future margin targets and fast-track the development outcomes our communities deserve.

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“We established our visionary SaaS+ offering, becoming the world’s first SaaS+ ERP company, by combining our mission-critical global SaaS ERP solution and implementation in one single fee, removing the need for traditional, complex, long, risky and expensive consulting implementations to provide faster go-lives and therefore unlocking value for our customers more quickly.

“We returned cashflow generation to NPAT ratio of approximately 100% one year earlier than planned. With significant cash and investment holdings of $223.3 million and no debt, our balance sheet retains flexibility and strength for inorganic growth in the future.”

Chung said adoption of the TechnologyOne global SaaS ERP solution exceeded expectations, “with customer adoption driving Total ARR to $392.9 million, up 23%”.

“TechnologyOne continues to lead in the Local Government sector, where we closed over 25 major deals in FY23 totalling more than $113 million in contract value. Consequently, more than 300 council customers now benefit from our high-quality products in APAC. We continue to win clients from our larger competitors, including the City of Parramatta’s digital transformation project, one of several excellent wins from Infor, and another returning customer from Oracle. These Local Government customers are just a few examples of councils choosing our market-leading ERP, CiA, with the digital customer at its centre.

“In the Government sector, we signed five major deals with a total contract value of more than $23 million. TechnologyOne successfully completed the transition of our existing 230+ Government customers to SaaS. The new customers we signed validated our SaaS-for-Government vision, with the most notable being the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (DVA), which was awarded to TechnologyOne at the conclusion of a competitive tender process against SAP. DVA, a large agency, chose TechnologyOne for the first stage of its digital transformation based on our proven ability to deliver within the Federal Government. Equally, the Commonwealth’s National Anti-Corruption Commission, with less than 200 staff, knows they will get the same enterprise grade, built-for-Government configuration, and industry-leading cyber security standards as our largest Government customers.

“We have successfully completed our transition from an on-premise legacy licence business to a SaaS business. Our plan to reduce on-premise legacy licence fees from a high of circa $75 million to zero over five years is complete. We have aggressively grown our SaaS recurring revenue business to replace that revenue, delivering increasing earnings every year,” Chung commented.

Australian telco Swoop appoints David Michaels as new Chief Revenue Officer

2023-11-13T16:03:29+11:00

COMPANY NEWS: Fixed wireless and wholesale network infrastructure provider Swoop Holdings Limited has appointed David Michaels to the role of Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) following an “impressive FY23 result” which included 51% YoY revenue growth, a corresponding Underlying EBITDA of $16.3m, up from $13.0m, with an accompanying $0.5m positive free cash flow (FCF) position, its first quarter of positive free cash flow in Q4 FY23.

Swoop (ASX:SWP) says David Michaels previously held the role of Head of Sales & Marketing at Swoop for 18 months and has been responsible for driving a committed team to deliver strategic and effective sales and marketing strategy across the business - and during this time the consumer and business division sales increased by 200% and there was also an improvement in marketing customer acquisition costs which both contributed to the company’s overall financial success.

Swoop says in his new role as CRO, Michaels will primarily be responsible for driving revenue growth and profitability, while overseeing financial strategies to “continue fuelling Swoops’ impressive growth and national expansion”.

Swoop Chief Executive Officer, Alex West, said, “I am very pleased to announce that David Michaels, our former Swoop Head of Sales & Marketing, has been appointed as Chief Revenue Officer.

“Since joining in May 2022 David has made an immense contribution across the business notably the development of brand awareness, customer acquisition and product integration. As we continue to expand rapidly with the ambition of becoming Australia’s premier challenger in the telecommunications market, David's promotion comes at a pivotal time. His strategic foresight, coupled with his dedication to nurturing teams and implementing innovative strategies, aligns seamlessly with our goal to delight our customers. His expertise will be instrumental in driving our mission forward, ensuring that Swoop not only meets the market demands but continues to deliver a better telecommunications experience.

“David’s prior experience within the telecommunications industry combined with his time within the Swoop business, provides him with the knowledge and experience to look strategically at what we need longer term to achieve our vision for Swoop.”

David Michaels, Swoop Chief Revenue Officer, said “I’m very excited to be taking on the role of Chief Revenue Officer at Swoop during a high period of growth. Having been with the Company for almost two years, I am proud to be part of an organisation that prides itself on delivering quality broadband, voice and mobile services to residential, small business and channel customers, delivering our purpose of connecting people and improving lives.

“At Swoop we’re driven to become Australia’s best challenger internet and telecommunications provider as we believe everyone deserves a better telco experience and as Chief Revenue Officer, my focus is on driving Swoop's growth by aligning sales and marketing, enhancing stakeholder relations, and strategically guiding Mergers & Acquisitions. I will oversee P&L management, ensuring financial strategies fuel our expansion goals.

“My commitment to team development and innovation propels our pursuit to lead Australia's telecommunications sector.”

Prior to joining Swoop, David Michaels spent over a decade working in senior sales managerial roles with listed companies in the telecommunications industry including Vocus Group Limited.