Dev Clever delivers strong FY20 performance
(DEV ) said it has delivered “a strong operational performance” for the year ending 31 October 2020 (FY20) despite significant external challenges as a result of the pandemic.
The education-focused technology and software group reported booking revenues of £2.4m and accounting revenues of £1.2m subject to audit.
The revenue growth of £0.48m and £0.5m respectively from FY19 was “in line with management’s expectations for FY20”.
The Company cited ‘considerable progress’ across its Educate and Agency Services divisions in FY20, including its exclusive three-year global distribution agreement with Lenovo Group.
Its work with the multinational technology firm provides it with a direct route to the global EdTech market for its careers education products, Launchyourcareer.com and VICTAR VR.
Dev rolled out its SaaS-based products in additional territories, completing its localisation and launch of Launchyourcareer.com and VICTAR VR in the US and Canadian markets.
The Group also secured further partnerships, including a partnership agreement with Veative Labs to integrate a range of educational products and services, in and out of the classroom, on a global basis as well as a three-year commercial partnership with Low6 LTD.
“Despite the significant external challenges that all of us have and continue to encounter as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dev Clever was able to deliver a strong operational performance as a business during the past financial year,” said CEO, Chris Jeffries.
Since the year-end in December 2020, DEV announced that it had entered into a five-year exclusive partnership agreement with Veative and the National Independent Schools Alliance ("NISA"), India's largest governing body for budget private educational institutions.
This agreement will see all parties execute an implementation and rollout schedule that will result in Dev Clever's Launchyourcareer.com platform being utilised by NISA which represents over 70,000 budget private schools in India, attended by c.13 million students.
The Group said its momentum has accelerated since the start of FY21 with achieved accounting revenue in 1Q21 alone coming in broadly the same as for the entirety of FY20.
Booking revenues were substantially ahead of expectations and, as a result, the Company said it expects ‘the rapid acceleration to continue’ throughout the remainder of FY21.
Furthermore, the Company's capital strength has increased substantially and is due to continue increasing substantially in the near term. This enables the Company to accelerate investments in additional complementary growth and value generating initiatives.
This week, the Group entered into an agreement with Singapore-based investor One Nine Two Pte to raise up to £10m to support the acceleration of its growth strategy including the ongoing development of the Company's marketing efforts in India as well as the Company's distribution, alongside Lenovo, in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
“Our accelerated growth is evidenced by exceptional current trading, with Q1 revenue this financial year being similar to that achieved in the whole of the previous financial year.
The EdTech sector is evolving more rapidly as home schooling and adaptation of technology solutions is gathering pace at a considerably faster rate than most anticipated one or two years ago. We certainly expect these growth trends to accelerate further,” he added.
The group's trading performance comes in-line with expectations published at the beginning of 2020 prior to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, marking no changes to growth forecasts at this time. Furthermore, the operational progress the Company has achieved during the period provides investors with some insight into what the Company can deliver during 2020. The market backdrop for the kind of technology and services DEV provides is positive with DEV at the forefront of the structural change currently taking place across the global education sector. Shares in Dev Clever have increased by over 160% in value since the beginning of November 2020. Meanwhile, this morning’s announcement pushed shares 3.45% higher to 24p.
Reasons to DEV
Dev Clever Holdings is a software and technology group based in Tamworth, United Kingdom, specialising in the use of cloud-based VR and gamification technologies to deliver rich customer engagement experiences across both the education and commercial sectors.
Its educational division offers careers guidance and recruitment solutions to secondary schools, colleges, universities, apprenticeship providers and employers with digital products to recruit and develop applicants and skills within their institutions and organisations.
Through its VR Careers Experience, VICTAR, the group encourages ‘hard to reach students disengaged from the process as well as reaffirming students on their career journey.’
Focused on bridging this global skills gap, DEV offers technology designed to support schools globally and to embrace immersive technology and revolutionise career guidance programs.
Due to a new reality of distance learning in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EdTech space has surged with analysts previously reporting an average increase in revenue of 335% according to an industry impact analysis by Rootstrap.
According to market data published by MarketsandMarkets, the EdTech and Smart Classroom Market size is expected to grow globally from $85.8 billion in 2020 to $181.3 billion by 2025.
In May this year DEV entered into an agreement with Intrinsic Capital Jersey Ltd, founded by serial entrepreneur and investor Chris Akers, to raise up to £10m (gross) through a subscription at 10p.
The fund raised in May enabled DEV to accelerate its growth plans with collaboration partners and clients whilst also funding the expansion of the Company into new territories.
The valuation multiples for EdTech Companies continues to rise as larger multinational companies acquire innovative players in the space to capture growth.
In recent weeks, the Company announced that it had entered into a five-year exclusive partnership agreement with Veative Labs (“Veative”) and the National Independent Schools Alliance (“NISA”), India’s largest governing body for budget private educational institutions.
The agreement saw all parties execute an implementation and rollout schedule from last month, which will result in Dev’s Launchyourcareer being utilised by NISA as the platform-of-choice to deliver a minimum standard of career guidance across its schools.
NISA represents over 70,000 budget private schools in India, attended by c.13 million students. Chris Jeffries, Chief Executive of Dev Clever, has described the agreement as “a significant opportunity to support the development of millions of young people in India.”
Follow News & Updates from here:
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest
The information, investment views and recommendations in this article are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this article should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engaging in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the writer but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. Vox Markets may receive payment from companies mentioned for enhanced profiling or publication presence. The writer may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.