Growth Recorded in the Core Business of the Group’s Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Orders Newly Secured
Group Performance Remains Solid Under the Haze of the Pandemic
“ASL Marketplace” A Cloud-Based Comprehensive Online Platform Launches New “as-a-Service” Products
Introduced Industry Specific Partner Specialized in Financial Sector

News Release – August 24 2022

(Hong Kong, 24 August 2022) – Automated Systems Holdings Limited (“ASL” or “the Group”) (HKEX stock code: 771), a professional and trustworthy global unified technology services partner, announced its interim results for the six months ended 30th June 2022 (the “Review Period”). Revenue of the Group’s core businesses (namely businesses in Hong Kong and other Asia Pacific regions) recorded HK$1,093.8 million, up 0.8% as compared to the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net profit up to HK$66.7 million and HK$44.4 million respectively.

In the review period, the Group’s basic earnings per share and diluted earnings per share were 1.36 cents and 1.35 cents (basic earnings per share and diluted earnings per share of the same period last year: (11.15) cents). Gross profit for the six months ended 30th June 2022 was HK$128.9 million, an increase of HK$11.6 million or 9.9% compared to the same period last year. The increases were mainly attributable to the growth in orders newly secured in Hong Kong, Macau and Asia Pacific, as compared to last year.

The Groups financial position remained healthy during the Review Period. As at 30 June 2022, the Group’s net cash stood at approximately HK$628.5 million with a working capital ratio of 1.74:1. The outstanding borrowings amounted to HK$78.7 million. The Group’s order book balance was approximately HK$1,399.6 million. In the Review Period, the Group’s orders newly secured amounted to approximately HK$1,295.4 million, representing a 7.6% increase from the corresponding period last year.

Revenues of the Group’s three DevSecOps business were broadly stable as compared to the same period last year. Apart from the DevSecOps business in service provision (see detailed description below), the Group was also involved in system integration.

In terms of the Innovative Solutions Business (Application Development — Enhance customer experience with innovative applications; Dev), the service orders newly secured in the period recorded an increase as compared to the same period last year. Service revenue recorded HK$225.0 million, representing an increase of 30.3% as compared to the corresponding period last year. The main growth drivers came from professional services and orders for applications development. The Group’s Offshore Delivery Excellence Center (ODEC) in Mainland China recruited 60% more staff compared to the same period last year, successfully maintaining stable delivery capability. The Group continued to support the government’s fight against the pandemic and assist in promoting the Smart City Blueprint. This year, the government issued the five-year-long “Standing Offer Agreement for Quality Professional Services 5 (SOA-QPS5)”, initiating higher tender requirements for technical assessment weighting more than the previous years, the Group ranked first in terms of market share in this sector during the first half of 2022.

With regard to Intelligent Cybersecurity Services Business (Cybersecurity — Protect your assets with intelligent security technology; Sec), the service orders newly secured in the period grew by nearly half as compared to the same period last year. Service revenue increased to HK$84.4 million. The business growth was mainly driven by enterprises’ needs in seeking continuous operation, remote work, automation, and centralized and managed security solutions during the pandemic. The Group continued to successfully capture the market’s demand for new cybersecurity solution, including the provision of IoT cybersecurity solutions for a university, new managed security services under the hybrid cloud environment (including the Security Operation Center (SOC) service) for a leading fintech company, and cybersecurity solutions featuring micro-segmentation under cloud environment and DevOps integration for one of the largest charity organizations in Hong Kong.

In respect of Integrated Managed Services Business (Omni-channel Managed Services — Simplify your IT operations to increase efficiency; Ops), the service orders newly secured in the period recorded double-digit growth compared to the same period last year, with service revenue reaching HK$230.1 million. The main growth drivers were contributed by ITSM information technology managed services and orders benefiting from government policies. In the review period, the Group continued to provide information technology services to support the fight against the pandemic and has successfully forayed into the market with its first order secured through providing ITSM services with a cloud-based environment management system. In addition, the Group has already introduced automation services to enable customers to access more convenient and interactive ITSM services.

In regard to the new business, the Group’s “ASL Marketplace”, a cloud-based comprehensive online platform showcased its latest one-stop service capability in cloud-native as-a-Service and DevSecOps integration. In the first half of 2022, the Group not only elevated the platform in the aspect of technology, but also prepared for the launch of new products. Moreover, the Group’s Unified Operation Center (UOC) is a delivery system that integrates DevSecOps professional IT services, and has secured several renewal orders during the review period. With respect to services and solutions for specific industries, the Group has already introduced a partner specialized in providing solutions for the financial industry to further consolidate its services capability in DevSecOps.

With its unique competitiveness in the provision of DevSecOps services, the Group received the “10 Best IT Solution Providers of 2022” award from a renowned technology magazine, testifying its capability has gained recognition in the industry.

As for the business of associates, GDH, an associate with business in Europe and the U.S., recorded a total revenue of US$148.7 million (equivalent to approximately HK$1,167.6 million) in the first half of 2022, as growth trends could be seen in all of its verticals. GDH has already terminated its operation in Russia. Most of the delivery resources together with its delivery personnel from Ukraine were relocated to the research and development centers in peripheral countries. Meanwhile, GDH would gradually establish and expand the offshore delivery resources in India, Mexico, and Poland to support further development of business. i-Sprint, one of the major associates in Asia Pacific, recorded stable performance during the reporting period with revenue recorded an increase to HKD$57.5 million, while EBITDA recorded approximately HK$8.8 million. During this reporting period, there were 30 new customers, which is close to the total number of last year.

Looking forward, to respond to the ever-changing market conditions, the Group will continue to remain resilient and agile, seizing business opportunities brought about by the pandemic simultaneously. During the transition, the Group will make continuous transformation, promote the development of DevSecOps integrated IT services, and integrate its services into “Unified Technology Services”. The Group’s overall development direction will be industry-oriented. It will perfect a strong partner network (including the building of a cloud partner ecosystem), utilize its constantly improving service-level agreement (SLA) standard and talents’ technical qualification, combine the overall service delivery with service-oriented, self-branded, automated, and hybrid cloud platform — Unified Operation Center (UOC) and Security Operation Center (SOC), and flexibly make use of the resources in the Offshore Delivery Excellence Centers in Mainland China to fulfil the market needs of local or cross-regional customers for centralized IT managed services and cybersecurity.

In addition, the Group has already rolled out two new products in August this year – LearnIoT.aaS (IoT Learning as-a-Service) and VEvent.aaS (Virtual Event Management as-a-Service) on the cloud-native ASL Marketplace to respectively fulfil the needs of STEM education measures and distance business. In future, the Group will make continuous updates to ASL Marketplace with enriched delivery content and enhanced platform (such as including automation services) for our customers to enjoy better customer experiences from a series of our self-branded as-a-Service.

Finally, the Group will focus on the sustainable development goals of all core businesses and seize development opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area market, striving to become a trustworthy unified technology service partner which provides technology and professional service to customers.

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* Please refer to the 2022 interim results announcement published on 24 Aug 2022 for more details.