Pebble Beach Systems Group plc

Trading Update

Pebble Beach Systems Group plc (AIM: "PEB", "Pebble" or the "Group"), a leading global software business specialising in playout automation and content management solutions for the broadcast and streaming service markets, is pleased to provide the following trading update for the year ended 31 December 2020.

The Group expects to report results for the full year 2020 with revenue of approximately £8.4m (FY19: £11.2m) and adjusted* EBITDA of c. £2.6m (FY19: £3.8m).  Orders received in the full year were £7.8m (FY19: £10.3m) with the second half of the year matching the first half as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact the sector. The management team responded quickly to the challenges created by COVID-19 with the business adopting a seamless transition to remote working and implementing cost savings which maintained the Group's adjusted EBITDA margin above 30%. The Group is pleased to note that during the period it did not take advantage of any Government loan or furlough schemes and there were no staff lay-offs.

Despite the more difficult trading environment, the business delivered good operating cash generation, helping to reduce net debt further to £7.7m as of 31 December 2020 (FY19: £8.4m, FY18: £9.4m). Management expects this net debt reduction trend to continue into 2021. The Group continues to enjoy a positive relationship with its bank, Santander, and has agreed a facility extension which will be signed in the coming weeks.

Going into 2021 there continues to be understandable delays in the investment decisions of our customers given COVID-19. However, the Group's pipeline remains very strong and we expect to build on the trusted market position Pebble has established. We will continue to invest in solutions to support broadcasters as they transition from traditional broadcast infrastructure to more flexible IP-based technologies. Pebble has a world class product suite and an outstanding client roster that includes the majority of the world's leading broadcasters. Our automated and intelligent platform enables multichannel distribution and transmission in over 70 countries worldwide. We are unique in our field and have the capability and opportunity to scale.

The Board remains confident about the Group's future and looks forward to providing a further update in our audited results for the year ended 31 December 2020, which will be announced in late April 2021.

John Varney, Non-Executive Chairman, commented:

"As with many other companies in our sector, the unprecedented conditions created by COVID-19 have proved challenging, as customers have inevitably delayed orders. However, we are pleased with the resilience of our business through these conditions and there has been no disruption to the execution of our strategy.  Recurring revenues are robust and although customers have delayed projects, our strong - and growing - pipeline reflects the market opportunity for our technology as more consumers turn to broadcast and streaming services. We increased the investment in R&D to £1.3m in 2020 from £1.0m in 2019, as we believe this ongoing investment and continued enhancement of our product suite are critical to our delivery of a next generation, cloud-based solution. The Board is confident that the Group continues to be well positioned to help our customers meet the needs of their expanding offering and that the Group will benefit accordingly.

*Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, is profit before depreciation, the amortisation and impairment of goodwill and acquired intangibles, the amortisation of capitalised development costs, non-recurring items and foreign exchange gains.

The information communicated in this announcement is inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 596/2014.

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