Trading Update

Northcoders (AIM:CODE), a UK market leading technology training business, is pleased to provide the following trading update for the year ended 31 December 2023 (the 'period' or 'FY-2023').

The Group is pleased to report that underlying FY-2023 trading is in line with revised market expectations1. Unaudited revenue for the period increased by 27% to £7.1 million (FY-2022: £5.6 million), driven by accelerating demand for digital training. The Group has £1.6 million of cash as at 31 December 2023 and net cash of £0.8 million.

In FY-2023 Northcoders' core B2C Bootcamp Division experienced record growth, receiving 8,535 registrations (FY-2022: 4,615) across its software development, data engineering and cloud engineering (DevOps) programmes. This has resulted in record-breaking graduate placements and a 14% increase in the hiring partner network, now totalling 465 companies, many of whom are returning to the Group to fill new roles repeatedly, demonstrating the quality of the Group's technology training.

Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, the Group's B2B Division experienced improved sales towards the end of H2-2023, securing three new contracts and generating an improved pipeline moving into FY-2024 across private and public sectors. Additionally, the Group secured admission onto the Cloud Compute 2 Government procurement framework, which will provide further opportunities for public sector engagement.

Current trading and outlook

2024 has started strongly, with continued growth in registrations within the B2C Bootcamp Division in January, reaching 872 (January 2023: 501), representing a 74% increase. This has been driven by improved strength and effectiveness of our marketing and conversion strategies.

On 16 January 2024 Northcoders announced that it had secured its largest ever Department for Education Government funding round. This will generate a 18.6% increase in funding per student which will support the Group's profitable growth and assist in offsetting inflation linked costs. The newly built 'NCore' platform has now been released, driving efficiencies and enabling the Group to explore even broader teaching mechanisms and iterations of the courses.

As a result, the Board is confident about the Group's prospects for the current financial year, with access to revenue and contracted visibility for FY-2024 standing at an all-time high at £8.3 million. This is an increase of 40% cover compared to January 2023, and strongly underpins market expectation for FY-20242. Revenue visibility for FY-2025 already stands at £3.7 million.

Chris Hill, CEO of Northcoders, said: "Reflecting on the past year I am genuinely proud of the Northcoders team, who delivered strong growth in revenue despite a challenging macro-economic backdrop. The ambition and entrepreneurial culture across the Group has played a crucial role in navigating these challenging market conditions, particularly as we faced some initial challenges within our newer B2B division. Looking ahead, we are moving into 2024 in our strongest ever position.

"Northcoders remains committed to our mission, creating life-changing opportunities for individuals from all walks of life, as we build upon our growth track record whilst focusing on increasing profitability. I am incredibly excited about the opportunities that lie ahead and the positive impact Northcoders can continue to make in the UK technology industry, and to the lives of the individuals we serve."

1FY-2023 Revised market expectation post Interim Results on 19 September 2023 - Revenue £7.1 million and underlying EBITDA of £0.1m

2Market expectations for FY-2024 for Revenue of £8.5m and underlying EBITDA of £0.9m