NETSOL TECHNOLOGIES INC quarterly report, Q3 FY2023

NetSol Technologies, Inc. Form 10-Q Summary

Business context and reporting period

NetSol designs, develops, markets and exports enterprise software and related services for the automobile financing and leasing, banking and financial-services industries. Its principal offerings include NFS Ascent, NFS Digital, Otoz and legacy LeasePak and LeaseSoft products. The unaudited Form 10-Q covers the quarter and nine months ended March 31, 2023, representing fiscal 2023 third-quarter results, with comparisons to the periods ended March 31, 2022.

Key financial metrics

MetricThree months ended March 31, 2023Three months ended March 31, 2022Nine months ended March 31, 2023Nine months ended March 31, 2022
Net revenue$13.5 million$14.8 million$38.6 million$43.7 million
Gross profit$4.7 million$5.8 million$12.1 million$18.9 million
Gross margin34.8%39.4%31.3%43.3%
Operating income (loss)$(0.9) million$(0.5) million$(5.9) million$0.5 million
Net income (loss) attributable to NetSol$2.5 million$(0.3) million$(0.2) million$1.3 million
Basic and diluted EPS$0.23$(0.02)$(0.01)$0.12
Net cash from operating activitiesNot separately providedNot separately provided$2.6 million$5.5 million
  • Quarterly revenue consisted of $2.0 million of license fees, $6.7 million of subscription and support revenue, and $4.9 million of services revenue.
  • Nine-month revenue consisted of $2.2 million of license fees, $19.2 million of subscription and support revenue, and $17.2 million of services revenue.
  • Cash and cash equivalents were $15.3 million at March 31, 2023, compared with $24.0 million at June 30, 2022. Approximately $13.1 million was held by foreign subsidiaries and was subject to foreign-country banking and repatriation risks.
  • Current assets were $40.8 million versus current liabilities of $17.7 million. Accounts receivable were $9.2 million, and revenues in excess of billings were $13.7 million.
  • Total loans and obligations under finance leases were $6.2 million, including $6.0 million classified as current. Total operating lease liabilities were $1.1 million.
  • Net cash used in investing activities was $1.4 million, including $1.6 million of property and equipment purchases. Net cash used in financing activities was $0.5 million.
  • Reported other income included foreign-currency exchange gains of $5.4 million in the quarter and $7.4 million for the nine-month period.
  • Net adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, was $3.3 million for the quarter and $1.9 million for the nine months, compared with $0.4 million and $3.2 million, respectively, in the prior-year periods.

Material changes versus the prior comparable period

  • Quarterly revenue declined 8.8%, while nine-month revenue declined 11.7%. The nine-month decline primarily reflected lower license revenue and a $3.5 million one-time post-contract support catch-up recognized in the prior-year period.
  • Quarterly services revenue fell $1.8 million, primarily because of lower ongoing implementation and change-request activity. Subscription and support revenue increased modestly in the quarter but declined $3.0 million for the nine-month period.
  • Gross margin declined to 34.8% from 39.4% in the quarter and to 31.3% from 43.3% for the nine months. Management attributed pressure to higher personnel costs, new hires, salary increases and increased travel following the easing of travel restrictions.
  • The company reported an operating loss of $5.9 million for the nine months, compared with operating income of $0.5 million in the prior-year period. Research and development expense increased 63% for the nine months.
  • The quarterly net profit was driven substantially by the $5.4 million foreign-currency gain. Without this unusual item, underlying operating performance remained negative.
  • Cash declined $8.7 million during the nine months, including a $9.3 million unfavorable effect from exchange-rate changes. Operating cash flow also declined by $3.0 million year over year.
  • Debt and finance-lease obligations declined from $9.0 million at June 30, 2022 to $6.2 million at March 31, 2023, primarily through repayments and currency translation effects.
  • Asia-Pacific remained the dominant region, representing 71.0% of quarterly revenue and 69.6% of nine-month revenue. Daimler Financial Services represented 28.0% of nine-month revenue and BMW Financial represented 8.3%, creating customer concentration.

Guidance, outlook, commentary and risks

  • The company did not provide formal consolidated revenue or earnings guidance in the filing.
  • Management expects recurring subscription and support revenue to gradually increase as legacy products and NFS Ascent implementations go live. Contracted but unsatisfied performance obligations were approximately $33.6 million at March 31, 2023; approximately $15.2 million was expected to be recognized over the next 12 months.
  • Management highlighted a new Kubota Australia NFS Ascent agreement expected to generate approximately $5.0 million over five years, the launch of Flex for Haydock Finance in the United Kingdom, continued DFS implementations, Otoz’s 38th dealer launch and an AWS API Gateway delivery-partner relationship.
  • The company expects approximately $2.5 million of capital expenditures over the next 12 months for business development and infrastructure enhancements, funded from current operations.
  • Key risks include global economic weakness, recession concerns, inflation, higher interest rates, geopolitical conflict, political and economic instability in Pakistan, currency devaluation, customer concentration, project-delivery and revenue-recognition judgments, employee retention, technology obsolescence and dependence on third-party technologies.
  • Foreign-exchange volatility is material. The Pakistani rupee weakened substantially against the U.S. dollar and euro, producing significant reported gains in the current period but also causing a $7.8 million cumulative translation loss attributable to NetSol for the nine months.
  • The company stated that it was in compliance with borrowing covenants and had no defaults. Covenant breaches or a change in control of subsidiaries could accelerate repayment obligations.
  • The filing reports no material legal proceedings, no identified risk-factor additions and effective disclosure controls as of March 31, 2023.

Important facts for investors to verify

  • Whether recurring subscription growth and the $33.6 million performance-obligation backlog convert into revenue as projected.
  • The sustainability of profitability excluding the $5.4 million quarterly and $7.4 million year-to-date foreign-currency gains.
  • Whether gross margins recover from 31.3% year to date amid higher labor, travel and research-and-development costs.
  • Cash availability at foreign subsidiaries, cash repatriation restrictions and the company’s ability to fund planned $2.5 million capital expenditures from operations.
  • Customer concentration and renewal, implementation and billing status for Daimler Financial Services and BMW Financial.
  • Compliance with NetSol PK and other subsidiary debt covenants, particularly as interest rates and local-currency volatility increase.
  • Execution of the Kubota, DFS, Flex, Otoz and AWS-related initiatives and the timing of associated revenue.
  • The filing’s unaudited status and management’s statement that interim results are not necessarily indicative of full-year performance.