Unabated growth
In the second quarter of the current fiscal year 2022, the leading media services provider in the global commodities industry continues its growth momentum. As detailed in the initial Report 01/2022, the Company is headquartered in Perth, Australia, with offices in London/UK, Belo Horizonte/Brazil, Manila/Philippines and Singapore, distributes high-quality content to a growing global clientele. The business model is highly scalable and can be expanded to include new areas and languages.
With the publication of the figures for the second quarter, Aspermont once again exceeded the forecasts it had set itself. Compared to the second quarter of the previous year, total revenues increased by 39% to EUR 3.21 million, while gross profit climbed by 43% to EUR 2.08 million. The increase of the gross margin to currently 65% is to be emphasized. The analysts of GBC AG expect the margin to further increase to up to 72% for the full year 2022.
Live events as a kicker
In this regard, the services sector grew disproportionately by 72% due to the resumption of live events. Management expects a similar impact in the fourth quarter, where even more events are in the pipeline. The return of lucrative live events was heralded by the "Future of Mining" Sydney at the end of March. With more than 700 registered attendees and over 300 companies in attendance, FOM was Aspermont's largest event to date. Through events of this magnitude, Aspermont generates more than EUR 700,000 in new revenue with secured gross margins.
Further continuous growth with a strong 19% was also shown by the XaaS segment. Here, the Australians generate recurring revenues through a central premium subscription. In addition, it is possible for existing customers to book further premium content services, adopt new content formats or add more members to their account. The third segment, data, also performed according to plan, with higher revenues expected here in the fourth quarter as part of the two-year lead generation process.
Overall, Alex Kent, Managing Director of Aspermont, believes that as the product development program progresses according to plan, there is an increased likelihood that financial growth expectations in terms of revenue and earnings targets will be exceeded.
Continued strong momentum
In addition to the increases in sales and earnings, Aspermont was able to initiate important operational and personnel changes. With the appointment of Dean Felton as Non-Executive Director, extensive expertise was brought on board. Dean has more than 25 years of experience in the mining industry, having held senior management and consulting positions with major companies Rio Tinto, BHP and Vale. Dean also brings additional expertise and technical knowledge to Aspermont from his recent leadership roles at Accenture and Ernst & Young.
Another positive note is a EUR 1.654 million government grant to Aspermont's subsidiary, Kondinin Group, for drought resilience. Through this, Australian farmers can receive extensive information and guidance on strategies and technologies to better cope with drought.
Several launches are also planned for the next few weeks. "Our technical development continues to progress. We should be able to launch our next generation investor outreach platform, which will be renamed "Resource Stocks," as well as our new "Content Work" platform and our highly anticipated "Blu Horseshoe" financing platform in the third quarter," said Company director Alex Kent. At "Blu Horseshoe", a joint venture with two partners Spark Plus and International Pacific Capital, the first step is to develop a platform to raise capital for professional investors in the ASX market. Currently, a pre-registration phase is underway for interested investors.
New advisor and possible major shareholder
An agreement has been signed with investment bank SooChow CSSD Capital Markets SCMM, which focuses on young, high-growth companies in the Asian region, for corporate advisory services. Aspermont, which recently established a Singapore office, expects the new partner to help develop its investor base and increase awareness in the region.
In addition, SCCM plans to subscribe to unlisted transferable stock options that can be exchanged for Aspermont common stock. In total, there are up to 250 million shares with a maturity date of only September 30, 2022, and an exercise price of AUD 0.0432 per share. Exercising the options would inject AUD 10.8 million, the equivalent of EUR 6.84 million, into Aspermont's coffers.
Interim conclusion
Aspermont continues on a steep growth path. The reopening of the live events will also flush considerable special income into the coffers. For this reason, revenue and earnings forecasts are likely to be adjusted upward significantly once again in fiscal 2022 and 2023. With a high cash balance, operational flexibility and management infrastructure, the focus should be on increased scaling in addition to growth. The analysts at GBC AG assigned a price target of EUR 0.07 in their latest study, which would mean more than a fivefold increase compared to the current price of EUR 0.013. However, the live events are not even fully included in the study.
