Norway's Pexip second-quarter revenue doubles as pandemic boosts video conferencing
OSLO, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Norwegian video conferencing firm Pexip Holding ASA said on Wednesday its second-quarter revenue nearly doubled from last year and adjusted earnings surged as more companies embraced home-office technologies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shares of the company, which competes with the likes of Zoom and BlueJeans, have jumped 40% since their Oslo listing in mid-May.
Revenue for the April-June quarter rose by 98% year-on-year to 163 million Norwegian crowns ($18 million), while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased to 40.4 million crowns from 11.6 million crowns a year ago.
"As a result of the COVID-19 situation, we have seen a significant shift in the way people and organizations perceive and use video communication tools," Pexip Chairman Michel Sagen said in a statement.
"We believe this has set in motion a move to a hybrid solution where large organizations will enable their employees to combine a mix of remote and office work, utilizing video communication solutions in both locations," he said.
So-called annual recurring revenue has risen by 64% in the last year to $66 million, and is ahead of schedule to meet a long-term goal of $300 million by 2025, Pexip said.
Taking advantage of its own technology, Pexip conducted an all-virtual roadshow in April and May to market its shares to investors, making it the first European company to complete an initial public offering remotely.
Still, the transaction to list the firm gave it a one-off cost of 97 million crowns, pulling its unadjusted operating result down to a loss of 17 million crowns from a profit of 0.7 million a year-ago, it said.
($1 = 9.0470 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
