Whispir revenue rises 20 per cent

Some of the sheen may have worn off for investors in cloud communications software as a service (SaaS) company Whispir (ASX: WSP) since its IPO last year, but the group's latest results show revenue continues to grow and the bottom line is improving.

The Melbourne-founded company reports revenues increased 20 per cent to reach $18.2 million in the first half of FY20.

Growth was recorded across all of Whispir's key revenue streams, including subscription licences, transactions and support services, with annualised recurring revenue (ARR) jumping 22 per cent to $36.7 million.

Only the US business failed to meet expectations, but this was offset by strong growth in Australia, New Zealand and Asia.

Whispir's EBITDA loss of $4.8 million beat the prospectus forecast by $1.6 million.

"We continue to execute our growth strategy, with increased use of the platform by existing customers and new customer growth in ANZ and Asia," says CEO Jeromy Wells (pictured).

"Our strong performance over the first half reaffirms we are on track to deliver our FY20 Prospectus forecast, having achieved or outperformed key financial metrics.

"We continue to see significant growth opportunities, particularly in Asia and the US. Asia revenue increased by 26 per cent on 1H FY19, and we expect it to continue to underpin our growth in the medium term."

Wells is confident in Whispir's new VP of Americas, Peter Gehl, to lead a go-to-market strategy that will positively impact US revenue in FY21.

"The US remains our largest market opportunity. We remain focused on growing sustainably in this region, utilising our channel partners to target sectors where we have a unique sales proposition, in particular healthcare and government."

After listing at $1.60 each, Whispir shares shot up to highs above $2 in October before falling to levels below IPO. WSP shares were trading 2 per cent lower at $1.43 at 1:41pm AEDT.

Business News Australia