FD Technologies revenue rises amid strategy shift
FD Technologies said revenue rose in the year to the end of February as the company saw significant strategic progress.
The company said revenue for the year was £80.7 million (€95.6 million), a 2 per cent rise year on year.
However, the company reported an operating loss of £23.4 million, widening from £15.6 million a year earlier, with an adjusted Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £6.5 million.
In October last year, the company agreed to sell its First Derivatives division to US software company EPAM for £230 million and divesting MRP, leaving leave FD Technologies to focus on KX, another arm of the group, as its sole continuing operation.
READ MORE
During the second half of the financial year, KX continued to perform well, delivering bookings growth for the fiscal year at the top end of it guidance range with £18 million annual contract value. That was a 33 per cent rise on the same period last year, when the figure was £13.5 million.
Annual recurring revenue rose 13 per cent to £81.8 million during the year, a strategic milestone
'As these results demonstrate, momentum is accelerating in KX bookings and ARR growth, and the business is on course to deliver sustainable operating leverage over the long term, with cash EBITDA reaching breakeven in FY27,' chief executive Seamus Keating said.
'Following the completion of the disposal of First Derivative for an enterprise value of £230 million in December 2024, we returned £120 million to shareholders via a tender offer in January 2025, reflecting our commitment to maintaining an efficient balance sheet and maximising shareholder value.'
The company has also agreed a takeover deal that will see US private equity fund TA pay £24.50 a share for FD Technologies, valuing the company at £570 million.
'TA has significant experience supporting in high-growth global software businesses, and we believe it is a suitable and appropriate partner for our employees, customers, and other stakeholders,' Mr Keating said.
The company has a 'robust pipeline' for the coming financial year, and plans to invest in expanding its customer reach in core sectors, including the financial services sector, boosting innovation, and exploring new markets.
'With accelerating ARR growth and better-than-expected operating leverage, KX delivered a strong performance based on good ongoing execution,' Mr Keating said. 'Our focus for FY26 is to deliver efficient growth and demonstrate progress in delivering the significant operating leverage that is a feature of our business over the long term. We will prioritise our investments to accelerate deployment, time to value and ease of use, further simplifying our product model and enhancing sales productivity.'
The company said it expects ARR growth of at least 20 per cent in the coming financial year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
15 minutes ago
- Irish Times
AIB-FoodCloud partnership has prevented 15,000 tonnes of food from going to waste
A partnership between AIB and the FoodCloud charity has helped to redistribute 15,000 tonnes of food, preventing it from becoming waste. FoodCloud, which tackles food waste and food insecurity by giving surplus food to charities and community groups, joined with AIB for a new community meals programme last year. In its first 12 months, the programme has served more than 5,000 ready-to-eat meals to people in need. Aoibheann O'Brien, FoodCloud co-founder and director of development, described the initiative as 'a powerful evolution of our mission to ensure no good food goes to waste'. READ MORE 'With AIB's support, we're reaching more charities and community groups across Ireland at a time when food insecurity is growing as the cost of living continues to rise,' she said. The non-profit said that adding prepared meals to its redistribution network had increased the impact of the programme by enabling charities with limited cooking capacity to benefit from the scheme. FoodCloud worked with suppliers such as Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Musgrave Group and BWG Foods to prevent 2,558 tonnes of food going to waste last year. A total of 2,147 tonnes of food was redistributed the year prior. Cumulatively the scheme has prevented more than 15,000 tonnes of food from going to waste. A survey of its 209 charity partners showed that 94 per cent found that the surplus food allowed them to support more people. And 74 per cent said it allowed them to offer more services, a 5 per cent increase on the year before. As many as 70 per cent of FoodCloud's partnered charities said they used all the surplus food. FoodCloud said the partnership between itself and AIB has overall helped redistribute 15,162 tonnes of food. The figure is the equivalent of feeding the population of Ireland nearly seven times, preventing about 50,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. AIB corporate affairs director Barry Field said the company was proud to support the AIB FoodCloud Community Meals Programme, which he said aligned with the company's 'commitment to fostering sustainable communities and reducing food waste'. He said: 'By collaborating with FoodCloud, we are helping to ensure that surplus food reaches those who need it most.' Mr Field also commended volunteers who contributed to the programme.
Irish Times
15 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Firm behind Project Eagle loan portfolio to be wound up
Directors of the company at the centre of the National Asset Management Agency 's (Nama) controversial Project Eagle deal expect to wind it up next year, according to its latest accounts. Promontoria Eagle, the company used by US investor Cerberus Capital Management to buy loans to mostly Northern Ireland-based borrowers from Nama in 2014, collected £526,606 (€626,000) from those debts last year, returns to the Republic's Companies' Registration Office show. Directors Donal O'Sullivan and David Greene state that the company expects to collect the outstanding loans within 12 months from May of this year, when they signed Promontoria Eagle's latest accounts, after which time the company will no longer be active. 'As a result it is the intention of the directors to wind down and liquidate the company following the realisation of the company's remaining assets,' they say. READ MORE [ Nama criticised over handling of 'success fee' in €1.6 billion Project Eagle sale after seven-year inquiry Opens in new window ] 'The directors expect this to occur within 12 months from the approval of the financial statements.' The accounts show that Promontoria Eagle lost £592,702 last year, following a profit of £362,850 in 2023. Cerberus paid Nama €1.6 billion for Northern Ireland-linked property loans worth a total of €6 billion in April 2014, giving the US investment giant the right to collect the debts or take ownership of the assets against which they were secured. Following a Dáil Committee of Public Accounts inquiry sparked by a row over the deal, the State's Comptroller and Auditor General found that Nama could have secured €220 million more for the loans. However, a subsequent commission of inquiry headed by solicitor Susan Gilvarry found the agency got the best price available. Cerberus was an active buyer of property loans from banks and Nama in the years following a financial crash in 2008 that threatened to leave the State insolvent. The US firm generally channelled finance to Irish companies established to hold the loans, such as Promontoria Eagle, through subsidiaries in the Netherlands. Cerberus used a combination of its own cash and loans from international banks to pay for its Irish activities. It then loaned this money to its companies in the Republic, allowing it take advantage of tax breaks on interest repayments given to property holding companies. The Oireachtas subsequently changed the law to end those tax breaks. Controversy erupted over Project Eagle in 2015, when it emerged that Ian Coulter, managing partner of Belfast solicitors' firm Tughans, transferred €7 million in fees from the transaction to an Isle of Man bank account without his firm's knowledge. Mr Coulter transferred the cash back to the firm and resigned, leading to claims that political and business figures in the North were to benefit from the cash. The row led to a criminal investigation in the North and the Committee of Public Accounts inquiry in the Republic.
Irish Times
15 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Department objected to Government's ‘housing tsar' amid concerns over pay and recruitment
The Department of Public Expenditure sought to block the approval by Cabinet of the so-called ' housing tsar ' in April, new internal records show. The Government department responsible for State spending cited concerns about the lack of a business case for the role, the implications for wider public pay policy and concerns about the process for the selection of the preferred candidate, Brendan McDonagh , the chief executive of Nama. Mr McDonagh withdrew from consideration for the role after political concerns were raised about the possibility that he might retain his €430,000 salary at Nama in the new job, and public disagreements between Coalition partners Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over the issue. The Government intends to proceed with establishing the role to head a new 'Housing Activation Office', which is being created in a bid to speed up the building of homes to ease the housing crisis. READ MORE But it is understood objections from the Department of Public Expenditure over the role have not yet been addressed. [ Nama's Brendan McDonagh says he could have added 'value' to new housing delivery agency Opens in new window ] The proposal is not yet ready to be signed off at a meeting of the Cabinet housing committee scheduled for today, though senior sources expect that possible names for the post will be discussed by the leaders of the Government parties soon, possibly next week. Newly released emails between senior officials in the Department of Public Expenditure ('DPer') and the Department of Housing – issued under the Freedom of Information Act – reveals concerns about the role. DPer officials told their counterparts in housing on Friday, April 25th that the memo relating to the role was 'not in position to go to Government' the following week. 'We have only got sight of the draft today and we need time to properly consider a number of elements, particularly around the organisation structure,' the spending department told them. DPer complained that its pay policy division had not received a request to sanction the post describe this as 'the usual process'. 'There seems to have been no engagement with them on this and the wider pay policy implications,' the officials said. There was, the department said, no business case made; the pay rate was not disclosed; there were 'unclear' references to 'contracted expertise' for staff; and no background material was supplied on the recruitment process 'that appears to have been undertaken for the selection of the appointee'. Earlier, Eoin Dorgan, an assistant secretary at the Department of Public Expenditure, had written to the Department of Housing warning that several issues would have to be considered before the memo could go to Government. They included the functions and objectives of the HAO, its Exchequer implications, pay and conditions for the chief executive and wider staff and the precedents established by them and how the new office would interact with 'wider infrastructure projects and the National Development Plan'. Sources with knowledge of the issues raised said DPer's objections have not fully been addressed yet, though it is expected that the office, with a new chief executive, will be established in the coming weeks. In response to questions, the Department of Public Expenditure said it was continuing to engage with the Department of Housing 'to finalise the establishment of the new office and its operations and also in relation to the arrangements for the CEO of the HAO as appropriate'. Last week, the most senior civil servant in the Department of Housing Graham Doyle told a property conference he did not think a 'housing tsar' was necessary. The department later said in a statement that his remarks reflected his opposition to the term 'tsar' rather than the role.
