S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) tech stock Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL) is taking a beating today.
Shares in the investigative analytics and intelligence software provider closed on Friday trading at $4.78. In morning trade on Monday, shares are swapping hands for $4.29 apiece, down 10.25%.
For some context, the ASX 300 is down 0.58% at this same time.
Though don't feel too bad for longer-term shareholders. Despite today's steep retrace, shares in the ASX tech stock remain up around 115% since this time last year.
Today's selling pressure follows the release of Nuix's half-year results for the six months to 31 December (H1 FY 2025).
Here's what's going on.
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ASX tech stock tumbles on growth results
Investors expect a lot of growth from Nuix and may be punishing the ASX tech stock after the company reported an annualised contract value (ACV) of $216.2 million at 31 December, up 8.3% year on year. In constant currency, ACV rose by 8.2% on the prior year.
But ACV growth over the half-year slowed markedly. For the six-month period since June, Nuix reported that ACV increased by 2.2%, or by 2.1% in constant currency.
As management explained, ACV provides an annualised "run rate" of the value of Nuix's contract value at a given point in time.
And, as previously flagged in January, management expects growth to be weighted towards the second half of FY 2025. The company noted that some pipeline deals have moved from anticipated completion in the first half to the second half.
But judging by the sell-down in the ASX tech stock today, investors would have preferred to see more of that ACV growth coming in H1.
In other core financial metrics, statutory revenue was up 6.9% from H1 FY 2024 to $105.2 million. In constant currency, revenue increased by 7.4%.
Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $27.1 million was down 4.5% year on year, while statutory EBITDA slid 10.8% to $15.3 million for the half year.
And the company's statutory net loss after tax increased by 115.4% over the six months to a loss of $10.4 million.
Positively, the ASX tech stock did report a 4.9% increase in underlying cash flow to $7.0 million.
As at 31 December, Nuix had cash on hand of $30.7 million.
What did management say?
Commenting on the half-year results for the ASX tech stock, Nuix CEO Jonathan Rubinsztein said, "Nuix is deliberately targeting larger, more enterprise-style contracts, offering larger customers significant value realisation through further investment in innovation."
Rubinsztein added:
In the short term, this shift towards more complex and higher-value contracts has meant the lengthening of the procurement cycle for some customers, with some pipeline deals shifting from the first half to the second half.
In the medium and longer terms, focusing on larger and more complex contracts will enable Nuix to better leverage its powerful technology.
Now what?
Looking to what could impact the ASX tech stock in the months ahead, Nuix reported the following strategic targets for the full year FY 2025:
- ACV growth of 11% to 16% in constant currency
- Continued successful rollout of Nuix Neo
- Revenue growth greater than operating cost growth (excluding net non-operational legal costs)
- Underlying cash flow positive for the full year
"We have said many times before that we are still in the early stages of Nuix's journey," Rubinsztein said. "We are excited by the opportunities ahead of us and look forward to executing on our strategy to drive further innovation and growth."
