Diligent sales growth 'sets new benchmark'

Software company Diligent Board Member Services is turning up the heat with another strong sales performance during the third quarter sending its share price higher.

The company reported net sales revenue of $US4.8 million ($NZ6.2 million) for the three months to September 30, up 120% on the same quarter last year and another $1.1 million higher than in the second quarter this year.

Diligent develops software to help corporates access safe and secure information via the internet.

It said its annualised license fees increased by an “extraordinary” $US5 million in the three month period and up $2 million on the second quarter, taking cumulative booking fees to $US19.7 million ($25.6 million).

The result means Diligent will be profitable on an operational basis for the first time since the company was established in 2007.“This is an extrodinary achievement for a company at this point in its growth cycle,” the company said.

Diligent shares opened up 5c at $1.42 on the NZX this morning.

The shares listed at $1 each in December 2007 following an initial public offering that raised $24 million but  sank to a low of 16c in March 2009 amid the global recession before climbing steadily throughout 2010 and 2011.

Diligent now serves 823 public and private companies with more than 12000 boards and 21,000 users in the US, Canada, UK/Europe and the Asia Pacific region.

During the quarter the company signed 170 new licenses compared to 41 in the same quarter last year. Among the new clients were 53 NYSE and 20 Nasdaq companies.

The third quarter sales growth “sets a new benchmark” for Diligent, the company said.

“While it took the company over four years to reach $US10 million in Annualised license fees, Diligent has nearly matched that in the first three quarters of 2011.

“Unparalleled demand for the Apple iPad in executive suites around the world continues to be one of the key drivers of sales growth.”

The company said the third quarter performance was remarkable considering the current worldwide economic environment.

“Based on its continued strong sales pipeline, Diligent expects demand to remain strong for the foreseeable future.