Quartix to pay supplementary dividend, revenue to be ahead of expecattions

18th Jan 2017 08:46

(ShareCast News) - Quartix, a supplier of subscription-based vehicle tracking systems, anticipates revenue will be ahead of expectations and will therefore pay a supplementary dividend, along with a final dividend, as it focused on its core fleet away from low margin insurance sales.The AIM-listed company had a "strong" year, as the subscription base in its core fleet operations increased 14% in the UK to over 71,000 vehicles, by 95% in the US to more than 6,000, and by 26% in France to just under 10,000.Revenue for the 2016 calendar year is anticipated to be slightly ahead of market expectations, while profit is expected to be in line with expectations, with free cash-flow at a "strong level". The company expects to pay a supplementary dividend along with the final dividend, in line with the policy it announced in February.Meanwhile, new unit installations in the insurance sector grew 22% to 69,000 vehicles, even though installations in the second half were 13% lower than in the first half.This was in line with the company's strategy to focus on its core fleet and only on insurance opportunities which offer satisfactory margins and which are aligned with the fleet business.The company said that it is managing its cost base particularly due to the price pressure in the insurance market.Due to its performance in 2016, the company is planning to invest further in its US operations, and this along with the decision to move away from low margin insurance sales means that the company is now expecting to deliver 2017 results broadly in line with 2016 earnings.Managing director Andy Walters, said: "We completed some key product initiatives and expanded our footprint in the US and now believe that it is appropriate to increase investment in the development of this market, which we estimate to be more than five times the size of the UK market."Shares Quartix were down 8.33% to 275p at 0907 GMT.