Release Date: June 24, 2025
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
- Oxford Metrics PLC (STU:RNI, Financial) successfully launched its markerless technology at the Game Developer Conference in San Francisco, receiving positive initial feedback.
- The company secured multiple contracts across aerospace, medical, pharma, and auto sectors in its smart manufacturing division.
- Despite a decline in revenue, the company's gross margin remained solid at 65.5%, demonstrating resilience in core business lines.
- Oxford Metrics PLC (STU:RNI) maintains a strong balance sheet with nearly GBP40 million, providing flexibility for ongoing investment and growth.
- The company continues to invest in R&D, reflecting its commitment to innovation and maintaining technology leadership across core markets.
Negative Points
- Revenue for the first half of the financial year '25 was GBP20.1 million, down from GBP23.5 million the previous year, reflecting a slower start due to a large order book fulfillment.
- Adjusted EBIT turned negative at GBP400,000 compared to GBP3 million last year, primarily due to reduced sales volume in motion capture.
- The US market showed a slowdown in sales due to funding cuts and policy changes, impacting the engineering and life sciences sectors.
- The smart manufacturing division experienced a 3% decline in IVS sales due to contract and customer delays.
- The company faces uncertainty regarding the typical seasonal uptick in activity in September due to US policy changes affecting academic funding.
Q & A Highlights
Q: How is Oxford Metrics managing the impact of US tariffs on its products?
A: Imogen Moorhouse, CEO, explained that the company has a US subsidiary that warehouses stock for the US market. They have restricted shipments from the US to Canada and Central/South America, opting to ship directly from the UK to avoid tariffs. They also shipped a significant amount of stock to the US before tariffs were applied. The company has managed customer messaging and price increases gracefully, and the tariffs do not translate to a full 10% increase in system prices due to non-tariffable items. Competitors are also affected, which may provide some competitive advantage.
Q: What are the indicators for measuring the commercial success of the Vian launch over the next 12 months?
A: Imogen Moorhouse, CEO, stated that the company will report markless revenues separately and include the ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) element. Success will be measured by building a significant and meaningful revenue stream from the investment in Vian.
Q: What was the interest earned on Oxford Metrics' cash holdings?
A: Zoe Fox, CFO, reported that the interest earned was GBP800,000 for the half-year, with an interest rate of 2.3%. This is higher than the previous year due to increased interest rates and a lower bank balance post-acquisitions.
Q: How does the smart manufacturing division, being more of a distribution business, synergize with the IP-led Vicom?
A: Imogen Moorhouse, CEO, explained that the goal is to turn the smart manufacturing division into more of an IP-led business by converting projects into products. They are exploring cross-divisional synergies, including back-office functions and marketing, and are looking for synergies in computer vision and AI across both divisions.
Q: How is Oxford Metrics addressing the impact of the US policy change on academic funding?
A: Imogen Moorhouse, CEO, noted that the short-term effects of the US policy change have been considered in their interim results. They are signaling uncertainty about the usual seasonal uptick in activity in September due to this policy change.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
