Alterian announces strong financial growth

A revenue increase of 14%, 330 new users and an increase in partners all in the wake of major social change

London, UK – 2 June 2010 – Alterian (LSE: ALN), the leader in customer engagement technology and solutions, today published its end of year financial results with revenues up 14% to £38.0m from £33.4m on the same period last year. New user wins across a wide range of vertical markets and geographies and 65 new partners who provide services to their clients based on the Alterian platform have contributed to the strong results.

David Eldridge, CEO, Alterian commented, “Alterian delivered revenue of £38m and adjusted operating profit of £7.7m for the year, which is growth of 14% in revenue and 28% in adjusted  operating profit.  This was an encouraging result following the deferment of certain UK contracts at the end of the third quarter.

Other highlights of the audited preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2010 include:

Acquisitions

• Acquisition of social media monitoring company Techrigy Inc completed on 15 July 2009. 
• Integration completed successfully and benefits coming through as expected.

Sales Momentum and Distribution Channel Growth Continues

• UK, Europe and Asia Pacific revenue growth of 11% with strong growth from small base in Asia Pacific; Americas returned to growth of 11% at constant currency (2009: 2% at constant currency)
• More than 330 new end users (2009: 210) across a wide range of vertical markets and geographies, bringing total end users to approximately 1,400.  
• 65 new partners, predominantly marketing agencies, bringing the total number of partners to approximately 220.
• Partnership with Experian expanded to provide analytics and campaign management software as an integrated solution with their Cheetahmail email offering; initially in the UK and Ireland.

Geographic Reach Expanded

• Office opened in Singapore, adding to existing Asia Pacific offices in Australia and India.  Initial partner and client won in Singapore.
• Partnerships signed in South America included youDB in Brazil.
• SocialEyez, a division of Media Watch Middle East, signed as partner to take Alterian’s social media monitoring solutions to the Arabic market.

Product and Solution Development

• Launch of new products including web behaviour analytics product WebJourney and reporting product Analytical Dashboard successfully completed and initial clients live
• New offerings integrating Alterian’s pre-existing and acquired products targeted at enabling marketers to improve customer engagement across four key channels:  the web, social media, email, and traditional direct marketing.
• Expansion of managed services offerings, enabling Alterian’s full product range to be made available on a Software as a Service (SaaS) basis.

“While the general economic climate remains challenging, we have entered the new financial year with a relatively strong pipeline.  Our progress with product and distribution together with our strong recurring revenue model positions the Company well to address the attractive market opportunity” concludes Eldridge.

Report signals stark warning to business leaders and marketers

These results come in the wake of a new report – Your Brand: At Risk or Ready for Growth? – written by Professor Michael Hulme that signals a major social change in the way consumers listen to, and engage with, brands.

The report found that marketers are faced with the challenge of responding to rapidly changing consumer demands and expectations. Only 5 per cent of consumers surveyed in the report trusted advertising and 8 per cent believed ‘what the company says about itself.’ As global advertising levels are predicted to increase by 0.8 per cent in 2010, the report calls for businesses to redirect their marketing spend into better understanding their audiences and engaging with them through a range of channels.

“As marketers look to respond to these challenges and achieve competitive advantage for their organisation, Alterian’s powerful technology solutions can help businesses adapt,” commented David Eldridge, CEO, Alterian. “Alterian offers individual customer engagement and an extensive network of partners who are experts in assisting marketers with their business objectives.”