Vista Group Limited (VGL) reported full year results last week. From their presentation (note figures are in NZD):

Total revenue hit guidance provided although it was slightly on the lower end. EBITDA was also very strong for the 2H finishing at $13.3m which was above analyst expectations of $12.5m. Likely driven by the strong 2H movie slate which included Barbie, Oppenheimer and the Taylor Swift Era's tour movie.

VGL are in the process of moving their clients onto their cloud offering and converting to a SaaS platform. Currently Saas revenue only represents around 30% of total revenue although close to 90% of revenue is recurring in nature. Listening in on the call it seems that most customers are favouring this transition to their cloud product although there has been some unexpected churn.

Outlook for FY24 was given:

Management expect stable expenses so expect EBITDA of around $25-30m for the year. Still unlikely to be profitable until FY25.

Disc: Held IRL and on Strawman.

Vista Group (VGL) released their FY21 results yesterday. Note, figures stated are in NZD. From their release:

• Revenue of $98.1m (up 12% on 2020) within guidance range
• Recurring revenue of $81.4m (up 24% on 2020)
• EBITDA profit of $6.5m, improvement of $17.9m on 2020
• Positive 2H21 EBITDA excluding expected credit loss and foreign exchange of $1.3m
• Positive operating cashflow of $11.3m, up 277% on 2020
• Cash of $60.4m, up $2.3m from 30 June 2021. Net cash of $43.6m

I think the results are solid given Covid headwinds (and potential structural headwinds). Personally I still enjoy going to the cinemas to see the latest blockbusters but can understand the shifting nature brought on by at home Streaming and the acceleration of this during the Covid pandemic.

Management have guided for a 20% revenue increase for FY22 ($118-123m). The company is also starting to shift customers across to their new Vista Cloud platform.

Disc: Held IRL and on Strawman

Vista Group held their AGM yesterday and whilst I haven’t had a detailed read of everything just some quick updates:

• ARR now at 100m as of April (was $80m at the last results)
• Revenue seems to be higher than expected due to higher than expected movie goers especially for the latest marvel movies
• Movie studios are back to releasing flicks at the cinemas, Universal pictures is releasing 30 movies this year compared to 15 last year
• Vista China is under watch given current lockdown status

Disc: Held IRL and on Strawman

This was announced to the market late last year but just catching up since I've been on holidays.

FY22 Revenue guidance has been increased to $131m - $135m NZD ($120m - $123,5m AUD). Part of this was due to an agreement with Cineworld Group who have agreed to pay Vista Group amounts owing prior to filing for Bankruptcy. They will also continue to use Vista Group software going into the future.

Revenue is still below pre-pandemic levels but Cinemas and movies seem to be on the road to recovery (Avatar 2 recently passed $2b in box office revenue) and the re-opening in China is bound to give the whole industry a boost as well.

Full year results to be announced on March 1st, 2023.

Full Announcement here

Disc: Held IRL and on Strawman.

Business transformation to accelerate strategy and Q4 2024 free cashflow

Announcement by Vista Group that they are going to align the group's business' under the one umbrella which will simplify the business as a whole. This will result in a reduction of the global workforce by 6-8% to be completed by the end of 2023.

Free cash flow positivity is expected to occur 12 months earlier, in Q4 2024 due to changes in its capex program which is now expected to occur over 4 years compared to 2 as was announced earlier. Guidance for 2025 remains unchanged with ARR of between $175m-$205m (NZD) with EBITDA margins of 15+%.

Full announcement here

Disc: Held IRL and on Strawman.

Vista Group Limited reported their 1H FY23 results last week. From their report (note figures are in NZD):

Overall I thought the results were fairly disappointing although on the call management did say that they would be second half weighted (take with that what you want). This is a company that is trying to turnaround in an industry that has suffered massive headwinds in the last few years whilst at the same time also trying to convert their business into a full SaaS model.

I can see where management are coming from in terms of the 2nd half weighting given that the whole "Barbenheimer" movement didn't occur until July and so any boost in earnings from this event wouldn't be seen until the 2H of this year.

Analyst forecasts have total EBITDA of $12.5m for FY23 and this was asked of management on the call who kind of played a straight bat and said that "that's the analysts' job".

Outlook remains unchanged with FY23 revenue guidance of $142-$147m and the company expects to be free cash flow positive by Q4 FY24 (15 months away). The company burnt around $9m for the half so there should be enough cash to sustain them through towards Q4 FY24. Although there is also $18m of debt on the balance sheet.

Price action was a bit weird on the day of results with no trades going through on the ASX even though the shares trading on the NZX were hit hard. In the last week shares have come back around 17%

Disc: Held IRL and on Strawman.