Oxford Metrics plc, the international software company servicing government, life sciences, entertainment and engineering markets, has released its preliminary results for the financial year ended 30 September 2020 which show headline revenue of £30.3m, down 14.3% on the previous year.
Yotta, the Group’s infrastructure asset management software company which is based in Leamington Spa benefited from acceleration of Digital Transformation in public asset management. The company said that customers are prioritising Digital Transformation to enable remote working, with several new flagship partnerships secured including Telensa, the UK’s largest provider of smart IoT streetlights, to provide a seamless lighting solution and control groups of streetlights.
The company also announced that it had won new business across UK local government – including South Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Somerset, Worcestershire and City of York- which is driving Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) growth.
In its motion capture company, Vicon was impacted by pandemic-related sales delay but is now seeing a broader range of applications continue to emerge. The company reported a Vicon reported a decline in revenue of 19.6% to £22.8m (FY19: £28.3m) with COVID-19 affecting all segments to varying degrees with short-term sales delay, especially in the USA which has seen continuous growth since 2015.
The company signed four new Location-based Virtual Reality (“LBVR”) partners and strengthened relationships with others including Europa-Park, one of the world’s leading theme parks, despite partners slowing rollouts due to COVID-19.
Vicon’s motion measurement technology is finding a wide range of new use cases including collective VR experiences as well as virtual film and TV production enabling low cost, high-quality production with fewer people on set for Vicon customers such as Rebellion Film Studios, Silverspoon and Industrial Light and Magic.
The company noted that both businesses have started the new financial year well, however, the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing, so uncertainty remains.
Commenting on the results Nick Bolton, Chief Executive said: “We’re extremely proud of how the business has navigated a challenging year, to deliver continued strategic progress, showing itself to be a resilient and agile organisation. Our performance owes much to our employees who have adapted brilliantly, and I would like to thank every one of them for their continued innovation and dedication to servicing our global customer base.
“Although the pandemic has caused short-term sales delays, particularly in the USA, it has also accelerated positive market drivers, which will underpin our future growth. Yotta has been a beneficiary of the acceleration in the Digital Transformation of public asset management, reporting growth in Annual Recurring Revenue (‘ARR’), driven by an increased need for Yotta software to manage new ways of remote working. Vicon has continued to see the move of motion measurement into the mainstream, as companies plan to enhance their solutions with motion tracking capabilities, such as the emerging opportunities in virtual film production.
“As we enter a new financial year uncertainty remains as the pandemic continues. That said, both of our divisions have started the year well, and the combination of our robust financial position and a tailwind from structural growth drivers puts us in a strong position both to navigate any further challenges that may arise and bring forward our growth plans.”
