closed up 10 per cent on Friday at $2.62 , more than 2x of late 2023
Vista Group’s EBITDA increases 188%, with free cash flow positive in sight
Vista Group International Limited (NZX & ASX: VGL) reported its half year results for the six months ending 30 June 2024 today, demonstrating benefits of its 2023 business transformation – delivering a significant operating improvement over 1H23, growing momentum of cloud client transitions, and reaffirmed it will be free cash flow positive for the fourth quarter of 2024.
Financial overview
• EBITDA of $7.2m (up $4.7m on 1H23)
• ARR of $129.4m (up 9% on 30 June 2023)
• Total revenue of $69.6m (in line with 1H23), with Recurring Revenue of $63.4m (up 5% on 1H23) and SaaS Revenue of $25.4m (up 20% on 1H23)
• Operating cashflow of $3.0m, or $6.1m after adjusting for movements in working capital (up $8.5m on 1H23 on a like for like basis)
• Loss for the period of $2.7m (a 68% improvement on 1H23).
Outlook
• 2024 total revenue guidance of $148m-$153m (was $152-$157m), Recurring Revenue of $133m-$137m
and Non-Recurring Revenue of $15m-$16m (was ~$18m)
• On track to be Free Cash Flow positive in 4Q24
• 2024 EBITDA margin of 13-14% (stronger than expected)
• 2025 EBITDA margin upgraded to 16-18% (was 15%+)
• On target to achieve December 2025 ARR of $175m+.
Operational overview
• 247 sites were live on Vista Cloud solutions on 5 August 2024, including Major Cineplex (79 sites), Everyman (44 sites), Pathé (29 sites), NCG (27 sites), and Megaplex (15 sites)
• New client Cine Colombia (48 sites) has signed to move its cinema circuit to Vista Cloud’s Moviegoer Engagement solution
• The new business structure is now fully operational, with a $4.8m reduction in total cost to serve and operating expenses from 1H23.
Industry overview
• Deadpool & Wolverine has smashed domestic box office records, becoming only the ninth film to open above US$200m, representing the sixth-highest opening weekend, and the highest R-rated film opening weekend of all time
• Animated coming-of-age Pixar film Inside Out 2 has taken US$1.5b at the box office, making it the highest grossing animated film of all time
• Highly successful film franchises anchor the 2H24 movie slate including Joker: Folie à Deux, Moana 2, Transformers One, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, Mufasa: The Lion King, and Gladiator II
• 1H24 domestic box office of US$3.6b, down ~19% on 1H23 due to the impacts of the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes.
