Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine warfare learning sensor and prototype manufacturing group DroneShield [ASX:DRO] has posted its business update for the three months ending 31 March 2023.
The AI technology and defence products developer said that December 2022 alone brought a record of revenues that exploded 59% with $16.9 million. This resulted assisted the group in gaining an ‘all-time second highest cash receipt quarter’ with $7 million — up 180% on the first quarter in FY22.
The group says it is currently in a ‘highly favourable environment’ and feels confident of its growing position as a global leader in the counter-drone industry.
In the year so far, DRO has increased in share value by more than 38% and has moved up 23% in its sector and 30% against the wider market over the past 12 months:
Source: TradingView
DroneShield’s March quarter lends 180% QoQ rise
The electronic warfare and artificial intelligence and machine developing group DroneShield has posted some impressive results for the first quarter of fiscal 2023, stating an all-time second-highest cash receipt quarter of $7 million, up 180% on 1Q22 (the highest being 2Q22, at $7.4 million).
The group says the result followed record revenue in December FY22 when the group tallied $16.9 million, an increase of 59% year-on-year.
Among the company’s highlights, DroneShield reported that it received an order worth $11 million in January, which followed a prior record order of the same value taken in December, and reported several smaller contracts that will also be boosting the group’s revenue in the near future.
DroneShield said that it gained strong investor support for its Placement and SPP (share purchase plan) last month, and managed to raise $40.3 million in capital, before cots.
The group said the funds raised will be used to boost its inventory for faster delivery of orders and to scale its engineering and operations teams for more support in sales.
The AI developer recently completed its $800k Defence Innovation Hub project, and in January they held a ‘high-profile’ DroneGun deployment in Brazil.
DroneShield shared that its bank and term deposits balance, totalled $45.8 million as at 31 March 2022, and by 21 April it came out at $42.4 million.
DroneShield’s CEO Oleg Vornik commented:
‘Following our recent record orders and a substantial capital raise, the priority is on securing near term significant follow up orders and ensuring the available inventory, and the engineering and operations teams are well placed to deliver on the rapid growth trajectory.’
The macroeconomic position for DRO
DroneShield pointed out that it is in a highly favourable environment, and it is working hard to build as a global leader in the counter-drone sector, efforts that DroneShield believes are already paying off.
The company explained that the counter-drone industry is growing at a rapid pace, with the general defence and security budgets also taking an expansion.
DroneShield stated:
‘The Ukraine situation is demonstrating the role of drones in modern warfare, and driving procurement programs of Government customers around the world seeking to be prepared for the next conflict.’
The group’s order backlog is around $22 million, as of today, with more than $200 million for its sales pipeline.
There’s also a $600k order for drone tracking sensors that have been scheduled for the Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management project in Europe, a project that includes Software as a Service subscriptions and quarterly updates for a fast-growing multibillion-dollar market.
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