eResearch launches on Datable Tech with a “Buy”

Chris Thompson of eResearch is dialling into Datable Technology Corporation (Datable Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSXV:DAC), initiating coverage on December 13 with a “Speculative Buy” rating and target price of $0.30/share for a projected return of 329 per cent.

Founded in 2008 as 3 Tier Logic Canada and headquartered in Vancouver, Datable Technology Corporation provides consumer digital and social media engagement, data mining and loyalty solutions primarily in Canada and the United States. 

Datable’s signature offering is PLATFORM³, a SaaS marketing platform that enables consumer packaged goods companies and consumer brands to build and launch promotions and special offers on mobile phones, websites and microsites. Datable’s emphasis is on collecting first-party data, collected directly from consumers and allows companies to communicate and build relationships.

“Part of Datable’s competitive advantage derives from understanding brands’ critical requirements, its focus on customer-centric innovation, and understanding market forces and business challenges,” Thompson said. “Over the years, Datable has extended and matured its proprietary platform into a complete suite of integrated functional modules.”

Datable has developed a high-profile client base over the years, with a small sample of the more valuable brands on its roster including 20th Century Fox, American Standard, M&M’s, Tim Hortons, MolsonCoors, Oreo, Electronic Arts, Uncle Ben’s, Betty Crocker, and Hershey’s.

“Our customers are allocating a larger budget to our solution due to our tools that enable the use of opt-in  consumer data to target consumers with relevant offers and rewards,” said Robert Craig, CEO of Datable in the company’s November 24 press release announcing its most recent quarterly results. “We had a significant growth in the first nine months of 2021 despite logistics challenges due to the COVID 19 pandemic and expect growth to accelerate as we add senior salespeople to our team, and the world and consumers open up later in 2021 and into 2022.”

In its most recent quarter, Datable reported a 91 per cent year-over-year increase to $830,000 in revenue, as well as a 73 per cent year-over-year increase over its most recent nine-month period, with the company attributing the growth to an overall increase in average contract value,  project deliveries and transactional orders with higher demands in the quarter from both new and returning customers.

Datable has also seen a jump in its deferred revenue, clocking in at approximately $2 million for 2021 for a 140 per cent potential year-over-year increase over the same period in 2020.

The company made a move in October that Thompson described as transformative, announcing its intent to acquire Dabbl, a London-based financial application with over 1.3 million downloads designed to make personal investing simple, accessible, affordable and incentivized, allowing consumers to interact with brands by taking short quizzes or surveys, watching videos, referring friends or family to join, or performing other tasks to earn points that can be converted into rewards. 

The deal is worth $10.6 million in Datable common shares paid out at $0.15/share, as well as acquiring its US$400,000 in outstanding debt at $0.12/share.

In addition, Datable will pay the Dabbl Security Holders, 6.39 million performance warrants with each warrant entitling the holder to acquire a Datable share if Dabbl achieves a trailing twelve-month (TTM) revenue of at least US$3.33 million (approximately C$4.2 million) as of June 30, 2022.

For 2021, Thompson projects revenue to come out at $3 million for Datable for a 50 per cent year-over-year increase. Following the expected integration of Dabbl in 2022, Thompson projects a revenue spike to $9.9 million for a potential 229 per cent year-over-year increase before breaking into eight figures in 2023 at a projected $12.3 million.

From a gross profit perspective, Thompson projects a drop from 51.9 per cent ($1.55 million) in 2021 to a 45 per cent margin ($4.47 million) in 2022, which he also projects to hold through 2023 ($5.52 million).

Meanwhile, Thompson forecasts the company’s adjusted EBITDA to be a $2.8 million loss in 2021, with a slight improvement to a projected $2 million loss in 2022.

Overall, Thompson believes the company is in a good position, particularly as it relates to its competitive peer group.

“Datable is currently trading at 1.0x our 2022 revenue estimate of $9.9 million, well below the Canadian AdTech and Marketing Tech providers, which trade at 1.9x 2022E revenue, and Canadian SaaS comparable companies that trade between 2.2x to 29.9x (mean of 10.7x; median of 9.5x) 2022E revenue,” Thompson said. “Datable’s low revenue multiple highlights the potential for its share appreciation.”

Datable Technology’s stock price has dropped by 45.8 per cent over the course of the year, falling from its March 19 peak of $0.16/share to currently $0.07/share.