Revenue growth, margin improvement and strong cash generation has allowed the Group to trade well through the economic downturn. During the financial year BNS has increased revenue by over 13% and reduced debt by £1.8m. Highlights include:
- Revenue growth of 13.3% to £37m
- Underlying EBITDA up from £0.13m to £3.2m
- Cash flow up 39% to £3.4m
- Reduction of net debt by 42% to £2.5m
BNS Chief Executive Garry Moat stated that “The demand for telecommunications products and services continues to be strong despite the current trading environment. Businesses are looking to reduce and more tightly manage their operational costs whilst also exploiting new digital technologies to improve efficiencies.”
“BNS are at the forefront of the Internet based IP calls revolution having moved from a traditional reseller of telecommunications to become an IP telephony carrier. We provide fixed and mobile data as well as traditional voice and mobile communications. Convenience, low-cost and the potential of combining all of these elements into a seamless converged communications offering, is an increasingly compelling business proposition.”
“Over 80% of the Group’s revenue is recurring in the year ended July 2009. This provides enhanced earnings visibility and demonstrates a resilient business model which is essential in the current trading environment. Gross margin also increased 8.7% to 42.1%.”
The IP market is forecast to grow significantly over the next 3 years; BNS has a market leading IP telephony platform via key strategic supplier relationships. This has recently been extended to include the purchase of a platform to provide customers access to the Microsoft range of software products to combine telephony with the office desktop. BNS will also start shipping high-definition (HD) handsets on all hosted telecommunications solutions from the start of 2010 which will enhance the IP call experience.