M Partners’ Ron Shuttleworth says Descartes Systems remains his top pick

M Partners analyst Ron Shuttleworth says Descartes Systems Group (Descartes Systems Group Stock Quote, Chart, News: TSX:DSG) keeps meeting his high expectations.

Descartes Wednesday reported its Q1, 2014 financial results. The company earned (U.S.) $2.8-million on revenue of of $34-million, up 14% from the $29.9-million topline the company posted in last year’s Q1.

Shuttleworth says the results were directly in line with his expectations. Revenue of $34-million met his target exactly and the company’s adjusted EBITDA of $10.4-million slightly bested his expectation of $10.3-million.

The M Partners analyst thinks Descartes will generate adjusted EBITDA of $43.4-million on revenue of $150.6-million this fiscal year. In a note note clients this morning, he maintained his BUY recommendation and $12.45 on-year target on Descartes.

After nearly becoming a dot-bomb casualty, former Gartner analyst Art Mesher rescued Descartes, which has since become a leader in global logistics technology; solutions that help its customers make and receive shipments.

Today, Descartes finds itself at the cutting edge of a trend; across the globe governments are looking to untangle and standardize their logistics operations. An increasing amount of evidence suggests a clear link between logistics performance and economics growth. The World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index showed that low and middle income countries such as Brazil and Columbia have given their economies a shot in the arm through improved logistics, while other emerging economies, such as Turkey, have been hurt by a lack of logistics infrastructure. Descartes’ revenue has grown from $66-million in fiscal 2009 to nearly $$126.9-million in fiscal 2013.