Wrap Text
Preliminary results for the 12 months ended 28 February 2021
Bytes Technology Group plc
(Incorporated in the England & Wales)
(Registered number: 12935776)
LEI: 213800LA4DZLFBAC9O33
Share code: BYI
ISIN: GB00BMH18Q19
("Bytes”, “the Company” or “the Group”)
26 May 2021
Preliminary results for the 12 months ended 28 February 2021
Record results driven by expanding customer base across both public and private sectors
Bytes Technology Group plc, one of the UK’s leading software, security, and cloud services
specialists, today announces financial results for the 12 months ended 28 February 2021 (“FY21”).
Neil Murphy, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“This has been a landmark year for Bytes. At the start of the pandemic and throughout the remainder
of the year, our colleagues maintained a high level of service to our customers, helping them to adapt
to new working patterns. Our team of salespeople also worked hard to secure a raft of new contracts
from customers across the private and public sectors. I would like to thank them for their efforts, which
have resulted in a record-breaking year for us.
“During the period, we achieved a successful IPO which provides the Group with a strong platform to
take advantage of the tremendous opportunities we see in the market. Our first set of results as a
listed business show we are taking great strides in delivering on our long-term strategy for growth.
Bytes’ recent inclusion in the FTSE 250 is further recognition of the progress we’ve made since listing,
and we look forward to raising our profile with investors further.
“Looking ahead, we remain confident that Bytes is well-positioned to enhance its market share and
capitalise on the exciting market opportunities ahead.”
Financial performance
£’million FY21 (12 months FY20 (12 months % change
ended 28 Feb 2021) ended 29 Feb 2020) year-on-year
Gross invoiced income1 £958.1m £722.2m 33%
Revenue2 £393.6m £373.1m 5%
Gross profit £89.6m £79.2m 13%
Adjusted operating profit3 £37.5m £31.7m 18%
Adjusted operating profit/ 42% 40%
gross profit
Cash conversion4 131% 126%
Adjusted earnings per 13.07 11.20 17%
share5 (pence)
Headline earnings per 8.52 10.39 (18%)
share6 (pence)
1 ‘Gross invoiced income’ (“GII”) is a non-IFRS alternative performance measure that reflects gross income billed to customers
adjusted for deferred and accrued revenue items.
2 ‘Revenue’ is reported in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 15, Revenue from Contracts with
Customers. Under this standard the Group is required to exercise judgment to determine whether the Group is acting as
principal or agent in performing its contractual obligations. Revenue in respect of contracts for which the Group is determined to
be acting as an agent is recognised on a ‘net’ basis i.e., the gross profit achieved on the contract and not the gross income
billed to the customer.
3 ‘Adjusted operating profit’ is a non-IFRS alternative performance measure that excludes from operating profit the effects of
significant items of income and expenditure, such as IPO costs, which are because of an isolated, non-recurring event.
Intangible assets amortisation and the effects of share-based payment charges are also excluded. The reconciliation of
adjusted operating profit to operating profit is set out in the Chief Financial Officer review below.
4 ‘Cash conversion rate’ is a non-IFRS alternative performance measure that the Group defines as cash generated from
operations, excluding IPO costs and less capital expenditure (together, ‘free cash flow’) divided by adjusted operating profit.
5 ‘Adjusted earnings per share’ is a non-IFRS alternative performance measure that the Group calculates by dividing the
adjusted operating profit after tax attributable to ordinary shareholders by the total number of ordinary shares in issue at the end of the
year. The calculation is set out in note 29 of the financial statements.
6 Headline earnings per share is after deducting £8.1 million of one-off IPO-related costs.
Group highlights
- Strong performance, with gross invoiced income increasing 33% to £958.1 million (FY20:
£722.2 million).
- Revenue growing by 5% to £393.6 million (FY20: £373.1 million).
- Gross profit growth of 13% to £89.6 million (FY20: £79.2 million).
- Record adjusted operating profit of £37.5 million (FY20: £31.7 million), representing growth of
18%.
- Expanded the customer base by 4% to 5,147 (FY20: 4,930), while increasing average gross
profit per customer to £17,400 (FY20: £16,100).
- Cash conversion remained strong, resulting in a net cash position at 28 February 2021 of
£20.7 million (FY20: £47.4 million) despite £48.6 million of pre-IPO dividends paid and £16.7
million of deferred consideration payments to acquire the B ordinary shares held by
management in Bytes Technology Limited and Blenheim Group Limited
- Increased headcount by 13% to 685 (FY20: 608), demonstrating our continued investment in
our staff to take advantage of strong growth opportunities in the coming years.
Current trading and outlook
Two months into the new financial year the Group has performed well, with gross profit in line with the
Board’s expectations and showing growth on the already strong prior year comparables, especially in
public sector. We attribute this strong performance to high levels of customer satisfaction, effective
sales execution and to a market which has seen IT spending remain robust through the pandemic.
We continue to invest in our sales and technical capabilities and expect to see some increase in other
overheads as lockdown eases and in-person customer interaction picks back up.
While the economic backdrop remains uncertain as the pandemic continues, we remain confident in
delivering our growth strategy and capitalising on the market opportunity.
Our dividend policy is to distribute between 40% and 50% of the Group’s profit after tax before any
exceptional items to shareholders, as disclosed in the IPO prospectus. The first dividend is intended
to be declared as an interim dividend for the year ending 28 February 2022, and then on an ongoing
basis.
Analyst and investor presentation
A presentation for analysts and investors will be held today via webcast at 9:30am BST. Please find
below access details for the conference call and webcast:
Conference call details:
United Kingdom (local): +44 (0)330 336 9127
Confirmation Code: 1881583
Webcast link:
https://webcasting.brrmedia.co.uk/broadcast/609ac70b576c9638976d6449
A replay of the webcast will be available after the event at: https://www.bytesplc.com/
Enquiries
Bytes Technology Group plc Tel: +44 (0)1372 418 500
Neil Murphy, Chief Executive Officer
Headland Consultancy (financial PR advisor to Bytes) Tel: +44 (0) 20 3805 4822
Stephen Malthouse
Lucy Legh
Henry Wallers
Jack Gault
Forward-looking statements
This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, ‘forward-looking
statements’. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty since they relate
to future events and circumstances. Actual results may, and often do, differ materially from any
forward-looking statements.
Any forward-looking statements in this announcement reflect the Group’s view with respect to future
events as at the date of this announcement. Save as required by law or by the Listing Rules of the UK
Listing Authority, the Group undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking
statements in this announcement following any change in its expectations or to reflect events or
circumstances after the date of this announcement.
Short-form announcement
This short-form announcement is the responsibility of the directors and is only a summary of the
information in the full announcement and does not contain full or complete details. Any investment
decision should be based on the full announcement that has been published on SENS
https://senspdf.jse.co.za/documents/2021/jse/isse/BYIE/FY21_SENS.pdf and is also available on our
website https://www.bytesplc.com/. The full announcement is also available at our registered office for
inspection, at no charge, during office hours. Copies of the full announcement may be requested by
contacting Headland Consultancy on telephone: +44 +44 (0) 20 3805 4822 or email:
bytes@headlandconsultancy.com
About Bytes Technology Group plc
Bytes is one of the UK's leading providers of IT software offerings and solutions, with a focus on cloud
and security products. The Bytes Group enables effective and cost-efficient technology sourcing,
adoption, and management across software services, including in the areas of security and cloud. It
aims to deliver the latest technology to a diverse and embedded non-consumer customer base and
has a long track record of delivering strong financial performance.
The Company has a primary listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and a secondary
listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Sponsor
RAND MERCHANT BANK (A division of FirstRand Bank Limited)
Date: 26-05-2021 08:00:00
Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited ('JSE').
The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or completeness of
the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers, employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct,
indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature, howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on,
information disseminated through SENS.
Sharenet Sites 
