Shares in geospatial map technology company, Nearmap Ltd [ASX:NEA] have crashed 5.15% this morning, shedding 19 cents to trade at $3.50 per share.
Nearmap shares have experienced a meteoric rise over the past 12 months, gaining more than 145%. Since the beginning of the year, shares have climbed more than 124.84% but have begun to taper off, as evident in the graph below:
Source: TradingView
Events in US may be impacting Nearmap share price
In a statement released this morning, Nearmap announced it had achieved record portfolio growth. Subject to final audit, the company’s portfolio has grown to $90.2 million from $66.2 million, representing 36% growth.
In annual growth terms, the increase represents an incremental increase of $24 million, up from $19.2 million in FY2018.
North American operations represented the largest growth on a percentage point basis, recording a 76% increase in annualised contract value from $12.9 million to $22.7 million.
Closer to home, Australia and New Zealand operations saw contract value grow to $57.9 million from $48.8 million in FY2018, a change of 19%.
The record growth in contract value has made good on FY2019 guidance of cash flows to breakeven from core operations. The core business cash balance at the end of the financial year was $17.8 million, an increase of $0.3 million on the opening balance.
Company CEO Dr Rob Newman said Nearmap was well placed to sustain this growth moving forward with its product expansion into 3D and artificial intelligence technology.
Despite the good news this morning, Nearmap shares have continued their downwards slide. Any gains expected this morning were likely wiped away by a weak open on the ASX.
It follows a mixed session on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing up 0.85% to close at a record high, while the S&P 500 was up 0.23% and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite was down 0.08%.
The Nearmap share price has been sensitive to movements made on the US indices recently, particularly the performance of overseas tech stocks.
What’s next for Nearmap?
Despite what might be described as investor reservations in this area, NEA’s preliminary performance reaffirms its products’ growing popularity.
The rate of growth seen in North America is promising, showing that the company’s increased focus in the region has already begun to pay great dividends.
In June, Nearmap launched its online 3D imagery web application along with a beta version of its AI identification technology. According to Mr Newman, NEA’s commitment for FY2020 and beyond will be to continued development of these products and technologies as a means to sustain company growth.
Nearmap will release its full FY2019 results on 21 August 2019.
Regards,
Ryan Clarkson-Ledward,
For Money Morning
