Alfa Financial Software confident after decent first-half

(Sharecast News) - Alfa Financial Software said in an update on Wednesday that during the second quarter, it continued a strong operational performance, with six customer deliveries building on the seven deliveries from the first quarter.

The FTSE 250 company said it had been investing in the development of Alfa Systems 6, releasing the fourth of six instalments called 'Scalability'.

It said the new module enhanced flexibility and speed for customers looking to scale their businesses, and facilitated easier market expansion and portfolio migration.

The firm said its pipeline remained robust, adding two new prospects in the second quarter, including a UK Alfa Start customer and an existing Asia Pacific v4 customer.

Alfa now had 11 prospects in its late-stage pipeline, with services being provided to eight of them under letters of engagement, up from six in the first quarter.

Total contract value at the end of the second quarter remained consistent with the first, significantly above year-end levels and up over 35% compared to the same time last year.

Alfa said its trading in the second quarter aligned with expectations, with the company still anticipating mid-to-high single-digit revenue growth for the full year.

The revenue pattern for 2024 was expected to be more typical compared to the unusual weighting in 2023, where the first half was particularly strong.

First-half revenue in 2024 matched last year's strong first half on a constant currency basis, with Alfa forecasting robust revenue growth in the second half of the year.

Subscription revenues had shown strong growth in the high teens compared to last year, with sequential growth continuing into the second quarter.

However, software revenues were significantly lower than the prior year due to the ongoing investment in Alfa Systems 6 functionality.

Services revenue saw a slight decline compared to last year, but was expected to recover in the second half as new projects ramped up.

"We are pleased with our performance in the first half of the year and are looking forward to an exciting second half of the year with several significant projects ramping up and the release of the final two pillars of Alfa Systems 6," said chief executive officer Andrew Denton.

"This combined with strong sequential growth in subscription revenues and an encouraging late-stage pipeline means we are well placed to achieve our expectations for the year and remain confident in the longer-term outlook for the business."

At 1035 BST, shares in Alfa Financial Software Holdings were down 1.19% at 182.4p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.