ESI revenue up 9% in Q1

ESI Group yesterday reported results for the quarter ended April 30, 2011. Total revenue for the quarter was €17.3 million, up 9% as reported and up 8% in constant currencies. The company said performance was strongest in Europe and the Americas, with a year/year decline in Asia as the “renewal of major contracts [were] put back to the second quarter”. I asked ESI for further information and it appears that these customers simply did not get their payments to ESI in time for the revenue to be recognized in Q1.

The details:
• Total revenue was €17.3 million, up 9% year/year and down 50% from last quarter. ESI’s revenue is very heavily weighted towards Q4, so the sequential drop-off is nothing to be alarmed about — this is about average.
• License revenue was €11.6 million, up 6% over last year
• New licenses revenue was up 24%, said the company, “thanks to new clients and the sale of new products at existing clients, particularly in Asia and Europe.”
• Services revenue continues to rebound from the unusually low levels of 2010, with reported revenue up 16% to €5.7 million.
• Revenue from Europe was €6.8 million ( the Americas for 20% and Asia for 41%.

ESI closed its acquisition of Comet Technology’s intellectual property in late April 2011, so the Q1 growth is largely organic. But for future quarters, ESI tells me, it will be difficult to measure Comet Technology’s contribution, since it was all intellectual property rather than specific products.

In prepared remarks, CEO Alain de Rouvray, said: “ESI Group enjoyed a good first quarter of 2011/12, keeping up the trend of growth seen last fiscal year. We are pleased with this first quarter achievement, which is traditionally weak and not very representative of the full year, and are confident about delivering a robust performance in 2011/12.”