Vista annual profit falls less than forecast as sales climb 55%

Vista Group International [NZX: VGL], the cinema software and analytics company, reported a smaller drop in annual profit than forecast in last year's offer document as sales climbed 55 percent on rapid growth in its core cinema software division.

Net profit fell to $3.99 million, or 5.9 cents per share, in calendar 2014, from $5.71 million, or 9.76 cents a year earlier, beating its July prospectus forecast for $3.44 million, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Revenue rose to $47.2 million from $30.5 million a year earlier, and ahead of the expected $45.2 million.

"It's a really good solid performance from our Vista Entertainment Solutions," chief executive Murray Holdaway said. "There were questions about whether we could grow that business and we've shown we could grow it."

Vista listed on the NZX in August after raising $92 million in an initial public offering, of which $40 million was new capital to fund its plans for global growth. This month it agreed to buy Ticketsoft, a Dallas, Texas-based company whose software is used in more than 200 North American cinemas.

The company's Vista Entertainment Solutions' unit was driven by the installation of 1,103 new cinema sites, largely in the US and China. Vista's global market share rose to 38 percent, and the Ticketsoft is expected to bolster its presence in North America.

Vista's Veezi software-as-a-service unit installed 150 sites in the financial year, and is looking to expand in markets beyond the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand, while its data analysis Movio business will roll out a new product in the second quarter of this year. Both units met revenue expectations.

Its MACCS film distribution software division reported growth from the US market, but the timing of revenue recognition led to it missing the prospectus forecast, Vista said.

Holdaway said the company is unlikely to repeat revenue growth of 30 percent in its Vista Entertainment Solutions unit in the current financial year, and it's evaluating other potential acquisition to help fuel growth.

Vista is the global leader at more than twice the size of its nearest competitor with its cinema management software, and Holdaway said there are a number of untouched markets that offer compelling opportunities.

The company affirmed prospectus guidance for annual profit to rise to $8.11 million in 2015 on sales of $61.5 million, and will provide a trading update at the half-year result in late August.

The shares rose 3.5 percent to $4.50, and have soared 91 percent since listing in August.

(BusinessDesk)