WiseTech remaining COVID cautious

Founder Richard White says his tech company is still growing, but the coronavirus remains an unpredictable beast.

WiseTech CEO Richard White. PIC: Nic Walker for The Australian

Shares in WiseTech Global are slightly up after the company affirmed its revenue and earnings guidance, but it says it will remain cautious due to the unpredictable long-term impacts of the global coronavirus pandemic.

The boss of the logistics software provider Richard White said at WiseTech’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday that business had been recovering since June, with momentum improving and continuing into fiscal 2021.

User numbers of its showpiece CargoWise platform were close to pre-pandemic levels by late July, and have since been trending upwards and above historical averages, Mr White – who started WiseTech after a career as a guitar tech for AC/DC – said.

“As COVID-19 swept across the world, the logistics industry and the technology we provide became of critical importance. Our real-time data sets allowed us to be among the first to call out the dramatic impact of COVID-19 on global trade and the likely impact on us all,” the executive told shareholders.

“Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 in terms of initial, severe disruption to supply chains, the pandemic has provided our business with a unique opportunity.

“It has accelerated the longer-term trend away from legacy systems with bolt-together micro-point applications with inherent complexity and cyber security risks, towards integrated global technology that facilitates the ability of logistics providers to navigate the new world normal.

“WiseTech is ideally placed to address this growing demand. Our CargoWise offering provides a highly integrated, fully digital, global logistics execution platform that increases productivity and visibility and provides functional depth and rich data driven automation. This enables our customers to better plan, visualise and control their global operations, while mitigating risk and facilitating regulatory compliance.”

WiseTech said it remained cautious and was sticking by the guidance given in August with its fiscal 2020 results.

It expects solid growth, predicting full-year revenue to grow between 9 per cent and 19 per cent to between $470 million and $510 million. It forecasts earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to rise by between 22 per cent and 42 per cent, to between $155 million and $180 million.

The company is expecting to reduce costs by $10 million in FY21, and said it’s expecting a run rate of $20 million to $30 million for FY22.

WiseTech Global shares are up 0.83 per cent to $30.36 at 11.15am AEDT.

With Dow Jones Newswires