Avast plc reports a 10% organic growth in first-quarter revenue

Avast plc (LON: AVST) said on Tuesday that its quarterly revenue jumped 10% on an organic basis. On the back of hawkish performance in Q1, the company now forecasts its full-year revenue to come in near the upper end of its guidance.

Avast plc shares were reported under 1% up in premarket trading on Tuesday and gained another 4% on market open. Including the price action, the stock is now exchanging hands at 492 pence per share. In comparison, it had started the year 2021 at a higher 532 pence per share. The price action should come in handy if you are interested in investing in the stock market.

Avast reports £169.53 million of revenue

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Avast said that its revenue in the first quarter printed at £169.53 million. In the comparable period of last year, its revenue stood at a lower £153.44 million.

The cybersecurity company reported £95.60 million of adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) in Q1 that translates to a 10% year over year increase. Margin, Avast added, stood at 56.4% in Q1.

In its previous guidance, the Prague-headquartered firm had forecast a 6% to an 8% organic growth in its revenue this year. Avast, however, expects the full-year EBITDA margin to remain broadly unchanged from last year on an adjusted basis due to R&D and marketing investments.

In separate news from the United Kingdom, Jupiter Fund Management said its assets under management saw an increase in the first quarter.

CEO Ondrej Vlcek’s comments on Tuesday

Chief Executive Ondrej Vlcek commented on the financial update on Tuesday and said:

“Avast has made a good start to the year with continued demand for the company’s security, privacy and performance solutions. The business is trading in line with expectations as we successfully execute on our stated goals to drive customer engagement and monetisation. We look forward to the remainder of the year with confidence.”

The news comes on the same day when Associated British Foods plc said its revenue slid to £6.31 billion in fiscal H1 as the Coronavirus pandemic weighed on sales at its clothing arm, Primark.

Avast performed fairly upbeat in the stock market last year with an annual gain of close to 15%. At the time of writing, the cybersecurity software company has a market cap of £5.03 billion and a price to earnings ratio of 41.44.