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Mobile phone detection company Acusensus (ASX: ACE) has beaten prospectus forecasts by almost $1 million to deliver a $400,000 net profit in its first seven months as a listed company following a surge in new contracts over the past year.
The Melbourne-based company, co-founded and led by CEO Alexander Jannink, posted revenue of $40 million in FY23, exceeding its forecast of $37 million by 14 per cent.
The bottom-line net profit after tax has beaten the company’s IPO expectations of a $1.3 million loss for the year, while gross profit of $18.7 million is 18 per cent higher than the $15.9 million forecast.
Jannink describes FY23 as a milestone year for the company, culminating in an ASX listing in January as Acusensus stepped up its plans to take its AI-based driver behaviour technology to global markets.
“We are delighted to have furthered our partnerships with existing and new clients and to have exceeded our IPO prospectus forecasts,” Jannink says.
“The company has managed to secure approximately $40 million in new contracts or variations to existing contracts over the past year.
“With the growth of opportunities across all our target geographies, we are excited about our future prospects as we head into FY24.”
Acusensus announced last week that it had secured a five-year contract extension with the Queensland Government for its mobile phone and seatbelt detection technology beginning in December this year.
The company signed a five-year contract in 2021 with Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads with the revised contract, worth $31 million, poised to take the technology to regional roads within the state.
Acusensus posted full-year revenue of $42 million in FY23, up 46 per cent on the previous year, while EBITDA increased 49 per cent to $5.5 million.
The company’s primary markets remain NSW and Queensland, while the Acusensus technology is also deployed in the ACT.
During the year, the company secured its first contract in the US - a federally funded road safety initiative in North Carolina.
When announcing the contract in June, Acusensus said it would be worth US$500,000 ($771,000) o the company over the next year with this revenue to be recorded in the company’s FY24 results.
Acusensus has so far secured $154 million in contract revenue since its inception in 2018.
While the AI technology is currently used for mobile phone and seatbelt enforcement, the company continues to explore novel applications for railway crossing monitoring systems and real-time detection of drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol.
The company says it is well placed to deliver further revenue growth in FY24, with expectations of securing more contracts in overseas markets. However, timing of these contracts will not be felt in full until FY25.
Acusensus sees encouraging signs for the US market, as well as the UK and Europe.
Jannink, who featured in the 2023 Australia's Top 100 Young Entrepreneurs list, is an engineer who founded Acusensus in early 2018 after spending years developing the technology.
Co-founder Ravin Mirchandani, the CEO of Ador Powertron, initially came on board as a seed investor in the company but is now the Acusensus chairman.
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