Shares of 1-Page Ltd (ASX: 1PG) have surged more than 22% today, and they did climb as much as 26.8% to a high of $2.46 earlier.
Indeed, the company released an update for its fourth-quarter performance today. It was an encouraging update from the group, which said it had $4.2 million in new bookings at the end of January – a 200% increase from $1.4 million at the end of November 2015.
It also said it had increased its number of annual enterprise contracts by 200% compared to the previous quarter to 24, five of which were valued at more than $300,000 each. Two of those five contracts are said to be worth more than $500,000 annually.
Some of the names it added to its customer list included two Fortune 100 technology giants, as well as Deutsche Bank, McGraw Hill Financial and Under Armour, to name just a few.
But notably, it said: "Both revenue and cash receipts lag new bookings between 3-6 months due to the deployment period of the 1-Page platform and clients cash collection period, per their policies and needs." The revenues from these bookings and contracts will be recognised in coming months, with cash expected to be received between 60 and 90 days following that.
It received $75,000 in cash receipts from customers during the latest quarter, and $394,000 for the year, while operating cash flows were negative $3.9 million. Much of this is being spent on research and development which is important for the company's growth, while it also had $48.9 million cash in the bank at the end of the period thanks to a $50 million capital raising in November.
What does this mean?
1-Page is a Silicon Valley-based business that provides cloud-based human resources from a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. It claims that its products can save both time and costs in the hiring process whilst also improving staff retention rates.
The fact that it has "at least one" of each of the top five global players in verticals including technology, retail, insurance, financial and consumer goods shows how versatile its product is across industries.
Enterprise customers are by far the most important customers for 1-Page to obtain as the clients pay based on how many employees they have. It also noted that its typical enterprise contract has, on average, 1,700 jobs open at any one time, highlighting the opportunity for 1-Page to grow and for its products to be utilised.
Although it is a relatively new business with limited trading history, there is certainly the potential for it to become a much bigger player in the global HR industry, potentially going on to rival the likes of LinkedIn and SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK).
It's also worth noting that the shares aren't cheap right now, while they are also still highly speculative in nature. I own a parcel of shares in the business but would be hesitant to become too exposed based on that fact.
Still, the shares have fallen sharply since peaking in September 2015 and could be worth a look by investors willing to accept a greater risk for a potentially large reward.