The directors present the strategic report for Ably Realtime Limited and its subsidiary companies (together “the Group” or “Ably”) for the year ended 31 January 2024.
Ably continued to drive towards its’ vision to make the online world better with realtime experiences. We believe in our mission to become the definitive realtime experience infrastructure of the internet.
Globally the realtime market is worth $2.2 billion and growing. Both companies and consumers continue to demand realtime interactions in all of their communication and online experiences. Leaders in realtime adoption report improved customer engagement and retention by delivering an exceptional customer experience.
Realtime adoption ensure firms can increase revenue, reduce costs and mitigate risk from building and maintaining these systems themselves. Adopting a realtime solution ensures uptime and reliability, it allows firms to focus their resources on the areas that matter most.
In 2024, world economies faced inflation, energy challenges, higher interest rates and reduced investment budgets. We consider Ably well positioned to perform strongly despite the worsening macroeconomic environment, given we operate a critical service for our customers that can assist in a downturn.
Our value proposition of reducing complexity, cost and risk, meeting user experiences faster and enabling customers to build for the future with a trusted partner means our platform is fundamentally well-positioned.
We are optimistic for the prospects of Ably as the business continues its global expansion and growth objectives.
During 2024 one of our key goals was to drive adoption and realtime led transformation with new customers. We released our new Spaces product to enable customers to build collaborative environments in their applications and focussed our GTM efforts on the growing Fan Engagement space.
Across our global customers, including NASCAR, we are delighted to report that we reached over 1.1 billion monthly unique devices connected to the Ably platform. This demonstrates customers, and their users, strong and growing demand for realtime infrastructure.
The Ably platform continues to be the leading realtime infrastructure provider on the market. Providing low latency and reliability, Ably’s SDKs and APIs power realtime capabilities like Chat, Data Broadcast, Data Syncronization, Multiplayer Collaboration and Notifications.
Expanding the product offering will remain a key strategic priority moving forward and be critical to support the acquisition of new customers and the expansion within the accounts of our existing customers.
Ably continues to fuel our existing and expected future growth from the investment round in May 2021. We have continued to deploy the capital to enhance the product offering to deliver value to our customers.
Ably engages with its customers on a subscription basis, with a land and expand go-to-market strategy. We continue to demonstrate our ability to execute on this strategy with a significant proportion of new ARR driven by account expansion.
We continue to win new customer accounts across a range of industries including Sports, EdTech and Finance. North American customers continue to be the largest proportion of new revenue.
We are pleased to report Gross Margin improved by 22% during the year due to engineering efforts to delivering new technology and improve efficiency of the existing system.
We report a Group loss of £9.35m in 2024 down 41% on 2023. Incurring losses during the growth stage is common in capital backed businesses of our stage and size. This is due to the upfront investment needed to deliver a global enterprise solution. The cost of operations is primarily centred in customer acquisition and research and development, of which all expenditure is recognised in the P&L in the period in which they relate.
We incur upfront costs to acquire new customers, which is expected when targeting large multinational institutions with significant procurement and legal processes.
The Group’s focus in 2024 was on improving operational efficiency. This was achieved through reducing overhead expenditure on discretionary spend and evaluating headcount requirements across all departments.
We continue to closely assess our expenditure in-line with strategy and reviewed against industry benchmarks and revenue performance. All expenditure incurred is closely reviewed to align with our strategic objectives.
In 2024 staff costs continued to make up the majority of our operating and administrative expenditures.
Expenditure decreased in 2024 largely driven by our change in business strategy from people investment to product development to drive performance and growth.
To take us to the next level of maturity, Ably invested in product facing teams including product, engineering and developer success. We continue to invest in the GTM function.
We reported a score of 80 in our Employee Net Promoter Score in Quarter 3 2023 which we consider “high satisfaction” of our people. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, we introduced a flexible working policy. This continues to rank as one of the most important benefits to our people in our staff surveys.
Macroeconomic climate
Challenging economic conditions and periods of inflation may impact the demand for our software and services. Budgets may be tightened and sales cycles could increase.
Our customer priorities may shift, but given our realtime software can reduce cost, improve reliability and reduce time to revenue, we believe that we are well positioned to thrive in challenging market conditions.
The economic climate may make it more challenging to raise capital. Ably continues to operate at a loss whilst we invest in growth. Our ability to raise capital is important to enable us to continue to grow the business.
Global instability
Ably’s global presence means we may be at risk from rising global instability, either directly or indirectly through our customer base, because of changing geopolitical tensions, economic volatility and regulatory changes.
We actively monitor any recent developments and support customers through our global service offering to ensure they can remain operational at all times.
Current and treasury risk
Given our global presence, we may be exposed to fluctuations in foreign exchange which could impact the business.
When the need arises, the Group holds/sells cash held in other currencies to reduce its exposures to the fluctuations on foreign exchange rates.
Uncertainty in banking markets heightens risk in treasury management. We will continue to conduct risk management and mitigation strategies, including diversifying our liquid assets across multiple banking partners, currencies and group companies.
The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which assumes that the Group will continue in business for the forthcoming twelve-month period.
The Group continues to operate at a loss, with a negative operating cash flow. The timeframe for the Group to attain profitability and positive cash flows from operations is expected within the next 2 years. . Achieving a breakeven position will reduce the companies reliance on a future equity round while providing stability to continue to grow the business.
Our successful funding round in 2021 will continue to be utilized to drive revenue growth, customer success and global expansion. These investments put Ably in a strong position to continue to grow in 2024 and beyond, as we look to expand our product offerings and customer base.
On behalf of the board
The directors present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 January 2024.
The results for the year are set out on page 11.
No ordinary dividends were paid. The directors do not recommend payment of a further dividend.
The directors who held office during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were as follows:
The auditor, Moore Kingtston Smith LLP, is deemed to be reappointed under section 487(2) of the Companies Act 2006.
We have audited the financial statements of Ably Realtime Limited (the 'parent company') and its subsidiaries (the 'group') for the year ended 31 January 2024 which comprise the Group Profit And Loss Account, the Group Statement of Comprehensive Income, the Group Balance Sheet, the Company Balance Sheet, the Group Statement of Changes in Equity, the Company Statement of Changes in Equity, the Group Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Basis for opinion
Conclusions relating to going concern
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the group's and parent company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:
the information given in the Strategic Report and the Directors' Report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the Strategic Report and the Directors' Report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
As explained more fully in the Directors' Responsibilities Statement, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the group's and parent company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the group or parent company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK) we exercise professional judgement and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also:
Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.
Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purposes of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the company’s internal control.
Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by the directors.
Conclude on the appropriateness of the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the group's or the parent company’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the group or the parent company to cease to continue as a going concern.
Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.
Obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial information of the entities or business activities within the group to express an opinion on the consolidated financial statements. We are responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the group audit. We remain solely responsible for our audit opinion.
We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.
Explanation as to what extent the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including
fraud
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities,
including fraud is detailed below.
The objectives of our audit in respect of fraud, are; to identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud; to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud, through designing and implementing appropriate responses to those assessed risks; and to respond appropriately to instances of fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit. However, the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with both management and those charged with governance of the company.
Our approach was as follows:
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory requirements applicable to the company and considered that the most significant are the Companies Act 2006, UK financial reporting standards as issued by the Financial Reporting Council, and UK taxation legislation.
We obtained an understanding of how the company complies with these requirements by discussions with management and those charged with governance.
We assessed the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements, including the risk of material misstatement due to fraud and how it might occur, by holding discussions with management and those charged with governance.
We inquired of management and those charged with governance as to any known instances of noncompliance or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations.
Based on this understanding, we designed specific appropriate audit procedures to identify instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. This included making enquiries of management and those charged with governance and obtaining additional corroborative evidence as required.
There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above. We are less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations that are not closely related to events and transactions reflected in the financial statements. Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken for no purpose other than to draw to the attention of the company’s members those matters we are required to include in an auditor's report addressed to them. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to any party other than the company and the company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
As permitted by s408 Companies Act 2006, the company has not presented its own profit and loss account and related notes. The company’s loss for the year was £9,704,043 (2023 - £16,008,946 loss).
Ably Realtime Limited (“the company”) is a private limited company domiciled and incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is .
The group consists of Ably Realtime Limited and all of its subsidiaries.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
The company is a qualifying entity for the purposes of FRS 102, being a member of a group where the parent of that group prepares publicly available consolidated financial statements, including this company, which are intended to give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the group. The company has therefore taken advantage of exemptions from the following disclosure requirements for parent company information presented within the consolidated financial statements:
Section 4 ‘Statement of Financial Position’: Reconciliation of the opening and closing number of shares;
Section 7 ‘Statement of Cash Flows’: Presentation of a statement of cash flow and related notes and disclosures;
Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instrument Issues’: Carrying amounts, interest income/expense and net gains/losses for each category of financial instrument; basis of determining fair values; details of collateral, loan defaults or breaches, details of hedges, hedging fair value changes recognised in profit or loss and in other comprehensive income;
Section 26 ‘Share based Payment’: Share-based payment expense charged to profit or loss, reconciliation of opening and closing number and weighted average exercise price of share options, how the fair value of options granted was measured, measurement and carrying amount of liabilities for cash-settled share-based payments, explanation of modifications to arrangements;
Section 33 ‘Related Party Disclosures’: Compensation for key management personnel.
The consolidated group financial statements consist of the financial statements of the parent company Ably Realtime Limited together with all entities controlled by the parent company (its subsidiaries) and the group’s share of its interests in joint ventures and associates.
All financial statements are made up to 31 January 2024. Where necessary, adjustments are made to the financial statements of subsidiaries to bring the accounting policies used into line with those used by other members of the group.
All intra-group transactions, balances and unrealised gains on transactions between group companies are eliminated on consolidation. Unrealised losses are also eliminated unless the transaction provides evidence of an impairment of the asset transferred.
The group made a loss for the year of £9,351,580 (2023: £15,856,520), but is well capitalised with £3,431,381 cash at bank at the balances sheet date. The group has prepared forecasts to January 2026 when it expects to become profitable on a monthly basis. The group has put together cost saving measures that include a reduction of head count in June 2023 that can be seen in note 6 combined with organic sales growth. Further operational cost reductions have been made in 2024 that will provide a reduced cash burn moving forward. The forecasts demonstrate sufficient cash to absorb any losses over the next 12 months and maintain cash reserves. At the time of approving the financial statements, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
The parent company, Ably Realtime Limited, extended its accounting period by one month in the prior year in order to bring the accounting period end in line with that of annual planning process and stakeholder reporting cycles. Therefore the comparative amounts presented in the financial statements (including the related notes) are not entirely comparable.
Turnover is recognised at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable for services provided in the normal course of business, and is shown net of VAT and other sales related taxes. The fair value of consideration takes into account trade discounts, settlement discounts and volume rebates.
When cash inflows are deferred and represent a financing arrangement, the fair value of the consideration is the present value of the future receipts. The difference between the fair value of the consideration and the nominal amount received is recognised as interest income.
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the profit and loss account.
At each reporting period end date, the group reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any). Where it is not possible to estimate the recoverable amount of an individual asset, the company estimates the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs.
The carrying amount of the investments accounted for using the equity method is tested for impairment as a single asset. Any goodwill included in the carrying amount of the investment is not tested separately for impairment.
Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use. In assessing value in use, the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset for which the estimates of future cash flows have not been adjusted.
If the recoverable amount of an asset (or cash-generating unit) is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset (or cash-generating unit) is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss, unless the relevant asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation decrease.
Recognised impairment losses are reversed if, and only if, the reasons for the impairment loss have ceased to apply. Where an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the asset (or cash-generating unit) is increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable amount, but so that the increased carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset (or cash-generating unit) in prior years. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss, unless the relevant asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the reversal of the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation increase.
The group only has basic financial instruments measured at amortised cost, with no financial instruments classified as other or basic instruments measured at fair value.
Equity instruments issued by the group are recorded at the proceeds received, net of transaction costs. Dividends payable on equity instruments are recognised as liabilities once they are no longer at the discretion of the group.
The tax expense represents the sum of the tax currently payable and deferred tax.
The tax currently payable is based on taxable profit for the year. Taxable profit differs from net profit as reported in the profit and loss account because it excludes items of income or expense that are taxable or deductible in other years and it further excludes items that are never taxable or deductible. The group’s liability for current tax is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the reporting end date.
Deferred tax liabilities are generally recognised for all timing differences and deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that they will be recovered against the reversal of deferred tax liabilities or other future taxable profits. Such assets and liabilities are not recognised if the timing difference arises from goodwill or from the initial recognition of other assets and liabilities in a transaction that affects neither the tax profit nor the accounting profit.
The carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each reporting end date and reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable that sufficient taxable profits will be available to allow all or part of the asset to be recovered. Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability is settled or the asset is realised. Deferred tax is charged or credited in the profit and loss account, except when it relates to items charged or credited directly to equity, in which case the deferred tax is also dealt with in equity. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset if, and only if, there is a legally enforceable right to offset current tax assets and liabilities and the deferred tax assets and liabilities relate to taxes levied by the same tax authority.
The costs of short-term employee benefits are recognised as a liability and an expense, unless those costs are required to be recognised as part of the cost of stock or fixed assets.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the company is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Equity-settled share-based payments are measured at fair value at the date of grant by reference to the fair value of the equity instruments granted using the Black-Scholes model. The fair value determined at the grant date is expensed on a straight-line basis over the vesting period, based on the estimate of shares that will eventually vest. A corresponding adjustment is made to equity.
When the terms and conditions of equity-settled share-based payments at the time they were granted are subsequently modified, the fair value of the share-based payment under the original terms and conditions and under the modified terms and conditions are both determined at the date of the modification. Any excess of the modified fair value over the original fair value is recognised over the remaining vesting period in addition to the grant date fair value of the original share-based payment. The share-based payment expense is not adjusted if the modified fair value is less than the original fair value.
Cancellations or settlements (including those resulting from employee redundancies) are treated as an acceleration of vesting and the amount that would have been recognised over the remaining vesting period is recognised immediately.
Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged to profit or loss on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease except where another more systematic basis is more representative of the time pattern in which economic benefits from the leased asset are consumed.
Transactions in currencies other than pounds sterling are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing at the dates of the transactions. At each reporting end date, monetary assets and liabilities that are denominated in foreign currencies are retranslated at the rates prevailing on the reporting end date. Gains and losses arising on translation in the period are included in profit or loss.
In the application of the group’s accounting policies, the directors are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
The estimates and assumptions which have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities are as follows.
Judgement and estimation is required in determining the fair value of shares at the date of award. The fair value is estimated using valuation techniques which take into account the awards’ term, the risk-free interest rate and the expected volatility of the market price of the Company’s shares. Details of share-based payments and the assumptions applied are disclosed in note 18.
The research and development tax credit recognised in the financial statements represents the directors best estimate of the amounts to be claimed. The claim has been calculated based on previous successful claims submitted to HMRC but given the complexity of the components making up the calculation and the assumptions required, there exists some uncertainty around the final amount to be claimed. The directors do not expect any significant changes to the claim and no amendments have been required in prior years.
The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the group and company during the year was:
Their aggregate remuneration comprised:
Investment income includes the following:
The actual credit for the year can be reconciled to the expected credit for the year based on the profit or loss and the standard rate of tax as follows:
Details of the company's subsidiaries at 31 January 2024 are as follows:
Corporation tax recoverable relates to R&D tax credits of £2,669,897 of which £2,043,424 has been received post year end.
A defined contribution pension scheme is operated for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the group in an independently administered fund.
Share options typically vest over 4 years from the date of the grant, 25% after 1 year, and then monthly over the following 3 years so that on the four-year anniversary of the grant, all options are fully vested.
The fair value of equity-settled share options granted is estimated as the date of grant based upon the net asset value per share, discounted to take consideration of factors that may create an inability to exercise the options.
All options are equity settled. The group measures their value, and the corresponding increase in equity, by reference to the fair value of the equity instruments granted at the date at which they are granted. The expense is recognised over the vesting period.
The following table details the number and weighted average exercise prices (WAEP) of, and movements in, share options during the period.
During the year the parent company, Ably Realtime Limited, issued 30,689 Ordinary 0.1p shares at a price of £1.53 per share.
The shares above hold different capital and dividend distribution rights that can be found in the Articles of Association.
After the year end the parent company, Ably Realtime Limited, issued 10,476 Ordinary 0.1p shares at a price of £1.53 per share.
The group had related party transactions with wholly owned subsidiaries and the parent undertaking, and as such has taken advantage of the exemption permitted under section 33.1A to not provide disclosures of transactions entered into with other wholly owned members of the group.
During the period the group paid £30,833 (2023: £37,917) to Casecadehill LLP for consultancy fees, a company which K Wallington is also a director. The amount outstanding at the period end was £NIL (2023: £NIL).
Key management compensation for the period amounts to £451,930 (2023: £478,360).