Having limped lower over the past three or four months investors are getting excited once more about Ideagen (IDEA:AIM), the data software suppliers to industries swimming in rules and regulations. Think healthcare, some manufacturing markets, financial services and, since the £18 million acquisition of Gael in December, aviation too. That deal effectively doubled the size of the company so it's comforting to see its strong contribution for the year to April, both financially and through new market opportunities.
Gael recently won a contract with European airline Flybe (FLYB), a five year deal worth £410,000. Gael's Insight suite will help the airline analyse operational safety, enhance incident reporting processes and boost Flybe's operating efficiency, assuming all goes to plan, by centralising the airline’s quality, safety, risk and performance management activities.
'By providing a unified view of quality and safety activities Flybe hopes Gael Insight will reduce their risk of non-compliance and drive business improvement,' says Michael Larner, analyst at respected ICT research website, TechMarketViews.
This looks like the first of many in this space. Air travel is already as red tape-ladened as pretty much any industry, yet the horrific events surrounding the Germanwings crash shock in March have thrust the industry's safety standards and compliance checks into the limelight. What more can be done to prevent such disasters, is what the aviation watchdogs are asking, and Ideagen's suite of systems and tools may well become part of any solution.
Overall outcomes for the year are roughly in line with market expectations. According to FinnCap analyst Andrew Darley, with revenues of £14.3 million comparing to the analyst's £14.2 million estimate, while EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) are bang on target at £4 million. 'Net cash of £5.3 million remains strong, supporting pursuit of further strategic opportunities in full year 2016,' Darley spells out today, reiterating his 50p price target. With the shares jumping close on 7% today to 37.25p, the market clearly sees more upside too.
