Volpara posts record sales in December quarter

Volpara Health Technologies, the Kiwi digital health firm listed on the ASX, reported record quarterly sales in the third quarter and is still on track to exceed its annual recurring revenue growth target for the year.

Wellington-based Volpara, which focuses on early detection of breast cancer using artificial intelligence, said it added a record 240,000 plus women to its platform in the three months to Dec. 31, bringing the total number of women who have been or will be screened to more than 1 million, marking its strongest quarterly sales ever.

The period was "our strongest ever quarter from a sales perspective... and our first ever month of taking over US$1 million orders (December). We expect a strong finish to the year, and we have a number of significant sales contracts already signed in the first few weeks of 4Q," said Volpara chief executive Ralph Highnam. The company's financial year runs to March 31.

The company said a further $3.1 million was added to its total contract value (TCV) during the quarter as a result of new contracts. TCV includes capital sales, service maintenance agreements and software-as-a-service contracts Volpara's TCV was tracking at $7 million in the year-to-date, compared to $4.1 million at the end of the 2017 financial year.

Annual recurring revenue (ARR), a favoured earnings measure of software firms, rose to $2.7 million from $1.1 million at the end of the 2017 financial year. "This, in conjunction with the deal pipeline, placed Volpara on track to exceed the company's 200 percent ARR growth target for FY18," it said. ARR is the contracted revenue expected to be booked over the next 12 months from current contracts alone.

Net operating cash outflow in the quarter was $2.2 million, higher than normal but still below budget, due to attendance at the Radiological Society North American annual conference, the company said. It expects the net outflow to shrink in the final quarter.

Cash receipts from customers were $650,000 "as expected coming off the traditionally slower Q1 and Q2," Volpara said. The firm expects this to "significantly increase" in the fourth quarter.

In the 2017 financial year, Volpara reported a net loss of $9.6 million versus $30.4 million in the prior year. The company first listed on the ASX in April 2016, having raised about A$10 million selling shares at 50 Australian cents each. It raised a further A$10 million at 60 Australian cents a share later that year.

The ASX-listed shares rose 1.4 percent to 74 Australian cents.

(BusinessDesk)