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Overall, Altium grew sales by 31% measured in the currencies of our primary regions, and by 26% measured in Australian dollars, to a total of $57.5 million. Our revenue grew by 18%, to $53.4 million. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), rose by 2% to $6.6 million. Profit before tax increased by 36% to $1.6 million. Once again, our cash balance has grown by a healthy margin of 68%, to $10.7 million. Trade receivables also grew, by 20% to $15.3 million. A characteristic of being a software company is that part of our revenue comes from the sale of software licenses, and part comes from longer-term contracts that reflect deepening commercial relationships with customers. An example of this is software assurance contracts. Many of our customers choose this option as it gives them the right to receive all product upgrades during the contract period. Altium benefits from this because we can see predictability in future revenue on the back of an increasing cash flow. Our customers benefit by being able to manage their budgets annually, and by having predictability on receiving upgrades. In business terms, this signifies an expanding customer base, expanding relationships with these customers, and expanding demand for our solutions. In accounting terms, we are required to defer the recognition of this revenue, which continues to show up as the difference between our recorded sales and revenue. The proportion of our revenue that comes from these longer-term contracts and relationships grew last year. And as these relationships continue, this proportion of our revenue is likely to increase in the years to come. The company's overall financial performance sits alongside significant, continued product research, development and release to the market. That Altium achieved this while growing the business profitably, and in the face of an Australian dollar that grew in strength through the year, underlines the board's confidence in the company's strategy, and capacity to execute on that strategy. Our regional operations continued to perform. All three primary regions - the Americas, Europe (including the Middle East and Africa) and the Asia-Pacific region - grew sales. We also joined the Business Software Alliance (BSA) as an Asian regional member, extending our earlier membership in the People's Republic of China. Membership of BSA gives Altium the opportunity to work with this highly respected body to assist in the reduction of software piracy and the education of the public about sound software management practices. Investment in talent has continued, and will be a focus for the 2007/8 financial year. In particular, we plan to focus on our sales management, on managing our growth effectively, and on the investments we need to make in people, markets and technology to manage our business. As part of this continued corporate stewardship I'd like to welcome two new members to the board of Altium. Sam Weiss joined the Altium board on 1st January 2007 and is a highly regarded corporate advisor with extensive board experience. He brings considerable experience of navigating the challenges associated with growth and in maintaining good financial returns. Sam currently serves on the boards of Oroton Group Ltd, Ecos Corporation, GLG Corp Ltd and Canterbury of New Zealand Ltd, and brings valuable business experience from his previous roles at companies such as Nike, where Sam was European chief operating officer. Sam is a graduate of Harvard University and holds a Master's Degree from Columbia University School of Business Administration. André Pravaz also joined our board on 1st January 2007 and is the former Vice President, South East Asia Pacific for Autodesk Inc. He brings deep experience of managing regional sales organizations, both direct and indirect, and will advise us in particular on strategic business development. André holds an MBA from Melbourne Business School of Management. The appointments of Sam and André to the board, and new senior appointments in our Sales & Support, People & Performance and Marketing teams, combine to strengthen our business leadership for the year ahead. 
As noted elsewhere in this report, the results for this year are those of the entire Altium team. On the back of their efforts, we propose a financial return to shareholders, in the form of a capital return of 6 cents per share, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. The board wishes to thank all those on the team for their efforts and success, and thank shareholders for your continuing support. 
Carl J Rooke, |
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