Highlights
Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR)* increased 20.3% over the prior corresponding period to $50.3 million, up 5.2% on the December quarter.
Quarterly cash receipts of $10.9 million were 22.5% higher than the same period last year.
Continued strong growth in net new customers with 43 onboarded during the quarter, bringing total customers to 750, up 192 on the prior corresponding period.
Well-funded for growth with a cash and equivalents balance of $51.7 million, following successful $45.9m capital raising.
On track to achieve FY21 guidance.
*Monetary amounts in Australian Dollars (AUD)
Quarterly performance
Whispir had a productive March quarter with strong growth in ARR, quarterly cash receipts and customer numbers compared to the same period last year.
ARR increased 20.3% over the same period last year to $50.3 million, a quarterly increase of 5.2%. Whispir’s underlying business remains strong, and the Company is on track to achieve its FY21 ARR guidance. Strong customer growth continues with 43 net new customers acquired during Q3 FY21, bringing total customer numbers to 750. This includes 11 new customers in North America.
Quarterly cash receipts of $10.9 million increased 22.5% over the previous corresponding period, but were down 3.5% on the strong December quarter, due to working capital movements on a quarter-to-quarter basis. Likewise, net cash used in operating activities for the quarter of $1.2 million was similarly impacted by working capital movements and underlying profitability.
Payments to related parties and their associates during the Quarter totalled $0.25 million, comprising Directors’ fees and expenses as well as the CEO’s base remuneration for Q3 FY21.
In Q3 FY21, Whispir’s cash investment in research and development totalled $2.3 million, increasing year-to-date investment to $6.9 million as the Company builds its AI and machine learning functionality.
Whispir is well-funded for growth with a cash and equivalents balance of $51.7 million as at 31 March 2021, following a $45.3 million share placement to new and existing institutional investors at $3.75 per share. A further $0.6 million was raized via a Share Purchase Plan for retail investors at the same price.
CEO Jeromy Wells said, “Our successful capital raising during the Quarter ensures we are able to fast-track our product development and increase our sales and marketing capability to scale the business faster, particularly in Asia and North America where we have large addressable target ASX Announcement Page 2 markets. In ANZ, we are successfully using our land and expand strategy to not only acquire new customers but increase platform usage by our existing customer base.
“While we are continuing to build our customer base, existing customers remain the primary driver of revenue growth. This reflects the stickiness of our platform which easily integrates with existing IT systems and can be used for multiple use cases.”
Sales and channels
In Q3 FY21, Whispir leveraged its channel partnerships with established brands to cost-effectively acquire new customers in all three regions. In Australia, Whispir renewed its business partner agreement with Telstra Corporation Limited for a three-year period on the same terms and conditions. In collaboration with Telstra, Whispir continues to onboard new enterprize and government customers including ANZ Bank and the Commonwealth Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Whispir’s partnership with Indonesian telecommunications company, Indosat Ooredoo, is increasing the Company’s footprint in Asia. New customers onboarded during the Quarter include broadband provider Ericsson and digital creative agency SWA Digital.
In North America, Whispir has new go-to-market initiatives underway with NASDAQ-listed 8x8 and is building its presence within the Amazon Web Services (AWS) ecosystem. Whispir also established a partnership with a key North American local government association, Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL). These channel partnerships further support the Company’s digital marketing campaigns, targeting underserved SME and SMB organizations with revenues ranging from US$10 million to US$1 billion. New North American customers added in the Quarter include Oak Hill City, San Juan County and Attention Media.
Products
Whispir continues to build its prediction, detection, and automation capabilities, adding new features and enhancing platform functionality. Improvements over the Quarter included updates to contacts, new templated buttons for web, AI-inferred recipient report to calculate engagement, and automated webform response capture. Whispir also commenced beta-testing a new AI-driven message type predictor.
Greater data insights and platform intelligence will make communications sent through the platform more effective, increasing engagement and enhancing message value for Whispir’s customers. This communications intelligence capability further enhances Whispir competitive advantage.
Outlook
Whispir is on track to achieve its FY21 guidance, targeting ARR in the range of $53.0 - $55.3 million and revenue of between $49.0 - $51.0 million. The Company remains focused on executing its long-term growth strategy; increasing customer numbers, platform usage, and revenue in ANZ, Asia and North America. CEO Jeromy Wells said, “Our strengthened balance sheet enables us to accelerate our international expansion to support our longer-term business objectives of 50% of total group revenue being generated internationally by the end of FY23. Given the strength of our ANZ business, we’re increasing our investment in technology and headcount in Asia and North America to drive customer acquisition and product-led growth.”
