Wetherby software firm Proactis returns to organic growth

The Wetherby-based business saw revenue drop to £24.5m from £27.7m in the same period the previous year, which it said was due to high customer churn in prior years.

Proactis said it enjoyed solid new business deal activity with 29 new name deals, although this was down from the previous year when it had 34.

Annualised recurring revenue (ARR), excluding heightened risk accounts, increased to £40.7m, representing 3.6 per cent organic growth in the core business.

Tim Sykes, CEO of Proactis, said: "The group has returned to organic growth of ARR in its core business during the period and to date as a result of improved new business performance and customer retention which, along with a strong pipeline build across all of the geographies that we operate, are clear indicators that the board's strategy is working well.

"In addition, the technical progress on our new product, bePayd, has been substantial and it is now ready for market and commercialisation."

All its staff have transitioned to working from home, the firm said, with minimal disruption from coronavirus.

The firm said its business model is proving resilient to the short-term market uncertainty during the early stages of the Covid-19 crisis.

Mr Sykes added: "The group has dealt with the immediate effect of the Covid-19 crisis extremely well and the recurring revenue, long-term contract business model is proving resilient at this stage.

"Our team is performing well, remaining highly connected and there has been no disruption to customer service.

"We remain vigilant to any indicators of risk, particularly around staff welfare, deferred pipeline build, reduced volume in transactional-priced contracts and potential delays to implementation projects which may have a more significant impact on the business if the crisis persists.

" "I am encouraged to have fundamentally reset our facilities with HSBC UK, which has demonstrated its ongoing support for the group. This is an essential foundation to our financial strategy and the facilities are now in line with the group's business plan for the mid-term.

"The group has made substantial progress during the first period of execution of its new strategy and this has continued to improve further after the period end.

"Whilst mindful of the wider economic outlook, the Group's return to organic growth in its ARR coupled with its forward revenue visibility, profitability and solid financial position provides me and the board with confidence that the group can now move forward confidently to execute its strategy and realise its potential.

"Accordingly, at this stage, the board maintains its guidance for the full year outturn."

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