Acquisitive Brady plc, supplier of trading, risk management and settlement solutions to the energy, metals and soft commodities sectors issued an upbeat H1 update this morning that shows its plans to gain scale and gain a name for itself as a strategic supplier are working out well.
Bolstered by its latest Navita and sysec acquisitions which closed in Q1 (see Brady upbeat on recent acquisitions), H1 revenue growth (for the six months ending June 30) was up 30% compared to last year. Trading is in line with expectations for the full year so there have been no surprises in the year so far. Investments mean EBITDA will be at a similar level to last year however. Operating signs are strong with a record 8 significant new licence deals signed in the period (vs 6 in the year ago period and 14 for the whole of 2011) and the average deal size has more than doubled year on year. Recurring revenue, the much sought type of revenue, was up c40% compared to H1 2011, but only rose 2% to represent 56% of revenues so some attention is needed here. Although revenue growth was due to a combination of organic and inorganic growth, the level of growth combined with operational signals, indicates Brady has got its strategy worked out and is executing well.