News IMDEX reveals record revenue as Devico deal delivers

Leading global mining-tech company IMDEX has reported record full year results for revenue and normalised EBITDA – the first results to include revenue from global directional drilling and sensor technology experts Devico, acquired by IMDEX in February.

Revenue for the 2023 financial year was $411.4 million – an increase of 20.3 per cent on the previous year – which included four months of Devico revenue.

Underlying earnings, normalised for the Devico transaction costs as well as exceptional legal costs, was a record at $122.6 million and delivered at a sustained margin of 30 per cent, notable given the rising cost environment experienced more broadly in the mining industry.

Commenting on the underlying business performance, Chief Executive Officer Paul House said: “We are especially pleased at the record performance of the business and the sustained margins.

“This is a testament to the relentless effort by our teams around the world; the strength of our business model; and a reflection of our prior investment in our digital 1.0 platforms.

“This allowed us to ward off the rising cost environment while at the same time continue our investments in R&D and our IMDEX Mining Technology business unit.”

As well as the Devico acquisition, IMDEX took a 40 per cent investment in drilling analytics software company Krux Analytics and increased its stake in geoscience image analysis company Datarock.

Mr House said the acquisition of Devico and the interests in Krux and Datarock added to the quality of the IMDEX core business and advanced the company’s growth strategy.

Spending on research and development of $32.5 million, 7.9 per cent of total revenue, was an increase from $29.5 million last year.

“We continued our strong trend of earnings growth, despite softer exploration activity during the second half of the year,” Mr House said.

“Our focus on integrating Devico into the IMDEX network will assist to deliver future growth, noting that Devico’s directional core drilling technologies provide greater exposure to less cyclical sectors of the mining value chain.”

Activity was impacted as resource companies sought to curtail inflationary cost pressures, demand greater productivity, and shift their exploration spend to alternative jurisdictions. This was most evident in Canada, Australia and West Africa.

Four months of revenue from Devico was included in growth of 19 per cent in the Americas (7 per cent of which was Devico); 20 per cent in Asia Pacific (3 per cent); and 25 per cent in Europe and Africa (8 per cent).

The company declared a final, fully franked dividend of 2.1 cents per share taking the full-year, fully franked dividend total to 3.6 cents per share, a 5.9 per cent increase on last year.

IMDEX continues to grow its suite of mining technologies including IMDEX BLASTDOG™ which remains in the commercial prototype phase with three units now on rent with trials in WA, Queensland and South America.

Underground production hole survey technology IMDEX OMNIx BOLT™ and Bore Hole Stabiliser IMDEX BHS™, both commercial prototypes, have been installed in four sites with two trials underway and installed in 11 sites with five trials underway respectively.

The company achieved the commercial launch of its automated spectral mineralogy technology IMDEX aiSwyft™, the advanced IMDEX OMNIx38 & OMNIx42 GYRO™ and its core logging solution IMDEX LOGRx™.

Key achievements linked to the Devico acquisition since completion included:

• Reference Gyros up 17% within the IMDEX network
• 14% increase in active directional core drilling projects
• Devico sensor sales transitioned to a rental model
• Devico sensors enabled within IMDEX’s Global Digital Rentals system

Mr House said the company’s mid to major customers remained well funded and capital raising for juniors, which represented about 15 per cent of IMDEX’s revenue, had gradually improved.

Exploration activity is expected to remain subdued in the first half of 2024 as resource companies continued to respond to the high-cost operating environment.

The underlying long-term drivers for the industry remained robust. Resource companies and drilling contractors are increasingly embracing innovation and new technologies, new discoveries are likely to be under cover and at depth resulting in larger drilling campaigns, the global commitment towards net zero emissions was increasing the demand for critical metals, and the continued extraction of reserves is outstripping their replacement.

“IMDEX is well positioned to leverage the robust industry fundamentals and the unique competitive position its global presence, leading technologies and integrated solutions provide,” Mr House said.