*UKHotViewsExtra* Pulsant resets with clients during pandemic

Pulsant has just released its accounts for FY19, covering the twelve months to end December 2019. The top line was flat at £82m, with recurring revenue at more than 90%. EBITDA was up 9% (to £22.1m) reflecting improved scalability and cost efficiencies as well as some one-time in-year savings. Overall, Pulsant now has a more scalable cost base.

When CEO, Rob Coupland, took over from his predecessor Niclas Sanfridsson (who came on board as CEO in 2017), significant work had been done to get the firm into better shape from an operational perspective. Sanfridsson fully integrated prior acquisitions and harmonised certain support functions, for example. Indeed, FY19’s improved EBITDA figure reflects some of those activities. In the current year, EBITDA is unlikely to enjoy that same uplift.

Since joining, Coupland has been focused on rectifying areas that were deemed to be negatively impacting top line growth. For example, Pulsant had lost some sales capability. FY19 was relatively light in terms of new wins so building the sales capability up again to help address that has been crucial. Broadly speaking, winning new logos in the Infrastructure Operations market is going to be a challenge for most suppliers through this year and next. Many customers are hunkering down and focusing on delivering ‘the basics’ (such as transitioning staff to working from home on a more permanent basis, excellence in customer service, and cash in the bank) against the backdrop of COVID-19. This puts incumbent ICT providers in a good position, but they must be completely dependable and focused on execution excellence. Read more……

Posted by Kate Hanaghan at '06:30' - Tagged: results   cloud   colocation   hosting   hybrid