MYOB's NZ business delivers 23% gain in revenue in 2016

MYOB, the Australian payment software developer, boosted revenue from its New Zealand division by 23% in a year when it continued to expand its portfolio with Kiwi acquisitions.

New Zealand revenue rose to $A67.3 million in calendar 2016, from $A54.8 million a year earlier, Sydney-based MYOB's annual report shows. That outpaced the 11% pace of revenue growth from its Australian businesses, which account for the bulk of the firm's sales at $A303.1 million. Research & development grants worth $A1.5 million in the year also chipped in to the ASX-listed company's revenue from this side of the Tasman.

MYOB bought Kiwi enterprise resource planning (ERP) software writer Greentree for $28.5 million last year, as it diversifies away from its traditional account software and into payroll and human resources software. That acquisition contributed 15% of MYOB's gains in its enterprise solutions, or an extra $A6.1 million, while the 2015 purchases of Ace Payrolls and IMS for a combined $23.7 million boosted SME solutions revenue by $A8.2 million.

The company continued its acquisition spree, announcing today it will buy Australasian payments processor Paycorp for $A48 million, giving MYOB a secure payments service to more than 6,500 clients across a range of industries.

MYOB today reported net profit of $A54 million, compared to a loss of A442.3 million when it faced a number of finance costs over its initial public offering. Stripping out those effects, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 12% to $A171.5 million on a 13% gain in revenue to $A370.4 million.

Its SME solutions unit, which covers the accounting software business, lifted its paying user base 7% to 585,000, with a 32 increase in SME online users to 225,000.

The board declared a final dividend of 5.75Ac per share, up 15% from a year earlier, and taking the annual payout to 11.25c.

MYOB said it expects double-digit revenue growth in 2017 with ebitda margins to remain in a range of 45-50%.

The shares climbed 7.3% to $A3.82.

(BusinessDesk)