The advanced surveillance technologies supplier is clearly selling the right type of security solutions, and there is the right kind of investment appetite, to make American its key market. This is evident in today's update on trading for the six months to 30 September.
At the headline level Digital Barriers (DGB:AIM) notes that half year revenue is expected to be around double last year's £7.9m, with a massive part of that coming from a full contribution from the Brimtek acquisition, although organic revenue and adjusted losses are expected to be broadly flat.
But here's the really interesting bit. 'Organic US revenues increased five-fold in the first half of the year over the same period last year, growth was somewhat constrained by stock availability as we approached the end of the half.'
So a five-fold hike in sales despite the company finding it hard to get its hands on enough components. It begs the question of what the revenue hike might have been were kit and tech more readily available.
And none of this factors in an almost breathtaking swathe of new business in the States, including its latest with yet another US government agency for the Digital Barriers ThruVis solution worth $1.7m.
That takes the total value of contracts secured from US federal agencies in September to $10m, just in September, most of which is expected to be delivered by the end of this financial year to 31 March 2017.
'Organic US revenues increased fivefold over the same period last year (the strength of the dollar against the pound must also have helped here),' explains TechMarketView analyst Georgina O'Toole.
Presumably, with Brimek now fully part of the company, kit and component shortages won't happen again either, a big plus given the company's apparent confidence in securing further material sales with US federal clients.
The strength of the US business vindicates Digital Barriers’ acquisition and divestment strategy as it refocused operations of late. It needed to. Spin the dial back to April 2015 and read Shares commentary here, when then shape of the business and its then future prospects looked pretty bleak. Things had already started to look very different by the end of 2015, as we spelled out in December (read here).
Now, it must continue to drive revenue growth as it moves towards breakeven. The market thinks that will happen this year to the tune of about £0.5m pre-tax profit on £43.7m revenues, according to consensus forecast data from Reuters. Pre-tax profit beyond is currently pencilled in at £2.9m and £3.8m on £48.2m and £51.8m sales for the following two years.
'Shareholders have had to wait very patiently but may now see a glimmer of hope,' concludes O'Toole.
