Highlights
Annualised Recurring Revenue (ARR) increased 26.7% over the prior corresponding period (PCP) to $43.7 million, up 3.6% on the June quarter.
Quarterly customer cash receipts of $10.5 million, in line with expectations and up 35.0% on the same period last year.
Strongest Q1 new customer growth on record, onboarding 35 net new customers during the quarter.
First Australian business to achieve AWS Digital Workplace Competency status.
Well-funded to execute current growth strategy with a cash and equivalents of $12.0 million.
Quarterly performance
Whispir had its strongest start to a financial year on record, with quarterly cash receipts increasing 35.0% over the PCP to $10.5 million. Increased platform usage by existing customers in ANZ and Asia were the primary drivers of this growth, with platform interaction volumes up 41.3% over the PCP.
ARR increased 26.7% over the PCP to $43.7 million, up 3.6% on the June quarter. Customer revenue retention is tracking to achieve 120% for FY21.
New customer growth for Q1 was the strongest first-quarter performance ever recorded by the Company, onboarding 35 net new customers during the quarter to bring total customer numbers to 665.
Whispir continues to leverage the macro trends that are affecting most organisations such as facilitating remote working, increasing automation of manual communication processes, and boosting organisational productivity. Turbulent operating conditions for many customers are increasing the need for them to provide contextually relevant, two-way stakeholder communications at scale. Designed to be used without IT expertise, Whispir’s ability to integrate with existing IT systems has enabled many new customers to start using the platform within days – rather than weeks or months - of becoming a customer.
Whispir continues to invest in development activities to increase the platform’s AI-inferred intelligence and enhanced functionality as part of a five-year product roadmap, and is well-funded to achieve its current strategic objectives, with a cash and equivalents balance of $12.0 million as at 30 September 2020.
Commenting on the strong quarterly performance Whispir CEO Jeromy Wells said, “While Q1 is traditionally the quietest period in our annual sales cycle, September was our strongest ever monthly revenue. Our strong growth in ARR and record net new customers over the past quarter reflects the ongoing demand for multi-purpose communications software to improve productivity and stakeholder engagement as our customers navigate ‘the new normal’.
Payments to related parties and their associates during the quarter totalled $0.6 million. These comprised Directors’ fees and expenses for Q1FY21, the CEO’s base remuneration and expenses for Q1FY21 and the CEO’s Annual Short-term Incentive for FY20.
Sales and channels
During the quarter, Whispir continued to increase its market presence in Asia with new customers acquired in Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Whispir’s established channel partners in the region, including its digital transformation partnership with Deloitte, is delivering qualified sales leads and cost-effective access to new customers in new geographic markets.
“Asia remains a large and diverse market opportunity for our versatile communications workflow technology. We have altered our team structure in this region to allow our technical expertise to support our customers more easily. This new go-to-market strategy is driving growth in customers and revenue in Asia, and we continue to leverage our strategic channel partner relationships and blue-chip references to increase our sales,” said Jeromy Wells.
Whispir strengthened its relationship with Amazon Web Services during the quarter, becoming the first Australian business, and one of only 18 globally, to achieve the newly launched AWS Digital Workplace Competency status.
AWS Digital Workplace Competency status recognises Whispir’s proven expertise in providing end-to-end digital transformation tools to effectively support remote workers and optimise business continuity plans. It is only awarded to AWS partners with specialised technical proficiency and verified customer success in reducing security risks.
Jeromy Wells commented, “The AWS Competency program is a leading indicator for global best-in-class technology solutions, and we are delighted to be among the first companies to be recognised by AWS for our proficiency in facilitating digital workplaces.”
The new AWS recognition follows AWS Advanced Technology Partner certification and AWS Digital Customer Experience Competency for marketing automation.
Outlook Whispir’s performance over the quarter was ahead of expectations, and the Company remains on track to deliver its FY21 guidance.
CEO Jeromy Wells said, “We continue to build momentum within the business, increasing use cases with our existing customers and onboarding new customers. Many of those onboarded in Q3 FY20 are now increasing their platform usage in line with our land and expand strategy and we expect these customers will have a positive impact on revenues later in FY21.
“While Whispir has had its strongest Q1 on record, we are still seeing suppressed transaction activity from some customers in some industries, such as aviation, due to COVID-19. As restrictions ease, we anticipate these customers will return to normal volumes.
“During the quarter we made significant progress on developing the foundation of our AI, machine learning and data intelligence capabilities and are continuing to add new platform functionality to support our customers in solving their complex communications challenges.”
