Wynyard hikes 2013 capital spending by up to 63%

Wynyard Group, the intelligence software developer spun out of Jade Software in July, plans to ramp up this year's capital expenditure by as much as 63 percent to drive sales growth, and says it's on track to meet its 2013 revenue forecast.

The Auckland-based company will bring forward recruitment of new sales and services staff to manage next year's growth pipeline, adding between $1 million and $1.5 million to the forecast capex of $2.4 million for the 2013 calendar year, it said in a statement.

Wynyard expected to spend a further $1.9 million in 2014 on capital expenditure, with that spending tagged for expansion in physical locations to cover the cost of staff and buying hardware for customer instalments, according to the company's initial public offering prospectus.

"Sales opportunities the company expected to close this year have either been executed or are in the late stages of contracting," managing director Craig Richardson said.

"While there remains potential for short timing differences at the year end, we are confident these contracts will be executed and hence we are bringing forward investment in next year's growth programme."

Wynyard affirmed its August guidance that the company was on track to meet its 2013 sales forecast of $21.5 million. The company reported first-half sales of $10.3 million, including the period before it was spun out of Jade.

The shares fell 1.7 percent to $1.18 yesterday, valuing the company at $121 million. The shares have gained 2.6 percent from its $1.15 sale price in a July float which raised $65 million.

Of the money raised, Wynyard kept $26 million to fund its growth ambitions, with the remainder paying out Jade for the intellectual property and covering outstanding debt.

Wynyard said it has retained Maryland-based Government Sales Specialists to manage early stage opportunities in the US, and has increased its investment in software-as-a-service delivery infrastructure in the UK and the Middle East to meet growing demand from its financial services clients.

By Paul McBeth - BusinessDesk