Often it’s not what you do but how and when you do it that matters, as the different experiences of UK-based back office operations management providers AOMi and eg Solutions illustrate.
AOMi is in confident mood, buoyed by momentum in its home and away markets. High points over the past couple of years have included the Queens Award for Enterprise: International Trade in 2011 and the successful deployment of its 2012 DWP/Jobcentre Plus contract. It has been gaining traction internationally and this has been a growth engine for the company, but UK business (over half of its revenue) is also accelerating. The most recent set of results (for the year to March 31 2012) show revenue of £13.5m, 36% yoy growth. At £8.4m the UK delivered 95% yoy growth, while South Africa and North America were ahead of expectations. Asia Pacific is generating strong revenue, helped by moves into new regions such as India and Middle East. AOMi’s strategy of growth through globalisation and entry into new markets is delivering.
Rather than going all out to repeat these levels of growth the company is looking at flat yoy revenue for YE March 31 2013. This is a planned move to enable it to deliver on the additional business it has gained. In the back office optimisation market, project work to implement the solution and adjusted business process flows comes after the contract is signed, making for lumpy revenue. However, with projects due to start from April 2013 management says it is on track for growth in FY 2013/14.
Even if AOMi delivers flat yoy revenue for YE March 2013 it won’t be a world away from eg Solutions, who posted just 2% revenue increase for its most recent year, ending January 31 2013. And AOMi’s revenue is over twice the size of eg Solutions. There are other significant differences between the two. eg Solutions’ reported a “significant” miss on its year end numbers due to contract slippage (see eg sets poor example on profits and gains new Aspect), while AOMi is adjusting the business to enable it to fulfil its new contracts. And while eg Solutions granted Aspect Software an c11% share of the business via a discounted placing and Aspect will become the exclusive distributor outside EMEA, AOMi has command of its international business. Here we have another example of diversity of performance.