Trading Statement

Big Technologies plc, the UK-based remote people monitoring technology company, issues the following trading update ahead of the announcement scheduled for 26 March 2024 of its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2023.

The Group has continued to perform in line with the board's expectations with revenue for the year ended 31 December 2023 expected to be approximately £55 million (2022: £50.2 million) and adjusted EBITDA to be approximately £33 million (2022: £30.5 million). These results are in line with current market expectations1.

Outlook for 2024

Revenue from our contract to provide electronic monitoring services to one of our larger customers, based in Colombia, is expected to end during the first half of 2024. This contract has been subject to short term renewals since September 2021. A number of recent new contract wins are expected to partially offset the potential revenue loss from Colombia.

During the second half of 2023, we have significantly expanded our business development efforts in the US market, the largest market in the world for electronic monitoring and substance detection. We expect this investment to accelerate sales growth in the medium term, but the additional costs are expected to reduce operating profit margins in the US in 2024 until new sales are realised.

As a result of these developments, we expect Group sales for 2024 to be at least at the level achieved in 2022. More detailed guidance for 2024 will be given at the time of our results in March when the outcome in Colombia is known with greater certainty.

The Group continues to see opportunities to expand market share and scale-up the business and is in the process of releasing its first innovative substance detection technology to priority customers. We have enjoyed contract renewals across the business and won a number of new customers in recent months which will start to contribute revenues during 2024 and 2025. A return to growth is expected for 2025 and beyond.

1: The Company has compiled forecasts from four analysts with current market forecasts for 2023 revenue to be in the range of £54.0 to £54.5m, with a consensus of £54.3m, and for adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of £32.7m to £32.8m, with a consensus of £32.7m.

Sara Murray OBE, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"In difficult market conditions, 2023 has seen the Group deliver a strong performance with continued growth in sales, profits and our cash reserves. We continue to invest in the business and in our market-leading suite of monitoring products and expect to see growth in the coming years. We are obviously disappointed with the outcome in Colombia, with a customer that we have served well for a number of years. We see a pipeline of attractive business opportunities around the globe and will continue to work diligently to replace this revenue stream."