Investors might be wondering what the metaverse is, what companies are involved with it, and what its significance is. While some might be aware of Facebook's name change to Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: MVRS), the extent of the emerging industry goes beyond the bounds of the United States stock market.

So, let's dive deeper into the metaverse.

What are metaverse stocks?

The metaverse is essentially the next step in the evolution of the internet. In reality, the concept isn't exactly a new one. An online digital world where people interact with each other via virtual and/or augmented reality has been featured in pop culture. Prime examples of this include the movies Ready Player One, Tron, and The Matrix.

Over time, technology has progressed to the point where personal computers now have the processing power to render interactive 3D virtual environments. Combine this with the advances in virtual reality hardware, such as the Oculus Quest 2 (owned by Meta), and the possibility of working, socialising, and playing in a digital world is becoming possible.

In turn, the companies that are involved in making this possible are being dubbed 'metaverse stocks'. As we mentioned before, Meta (previously Facebook) is a well-known example of this. However, there are a few ASX-listed companies that might fit into the metaverse stock category.

The first Aussie example of a company with metaverse exposure is game developer Playside Studios Ltd (ASX: PLY). Interestingly, in its November capital raising, the company said part of the proceeds would be going towards establishing a dedicated R&D team to blockchain gaming linked to the metaverse.

Another ASX-listed company with ties to the digital environment is the geospatial tech company Aerometrex Ltd (ASX: AMX). In October, the small-cap company announced that its 3D model of San Francisco would be used to create a metaverse. Specifically, Terrestrial Software Development purchased the model for $250,000 to develop its 'Lunaverse'.

What's behind the buzz?

The excitement surrounding the metaverse is palpable. This may not be surprising if it is set to be the next iteration of the internet. After all, some of the largest companies in the world have been built on the emergence of the internet. For example, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft Inc (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL).

Research published by Bloomberg last week indicated the metaverse could be an $800 billion market in 2024. Notably, the analysts believe game makers will expand their platforms to incorporate live events and social media. This sizeable opportunity means investors are salivating at the potential upside that metaverse stocks might offer.

The post What are Metaverse stocks and why is everyone talking about them? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Terrestrial Software Development has bought a $250,000 software licence from the Australian geospatial tech company that will see it using the high-resolution model to create Lunaverse.

Lunaverse is a digital metaverse, a created parallel universe traversed using virtual reality.

At the time of writing, the Aerometrex share price is 67 cents, 6.35% higher than its previous closing price.

Let's take a closer look at today's news from Aerometrex.

Aerometrex's model to feature in a new world

The Aerometrex share price is climbing on news its 3D model of San Francisco will form part of a metaverse.

The company hopes Terrestrial Software's $250,000 contract bodes well for the future.

It hopes to continue to expand its 3D modelling service internationally and the United States has been cemented as its first target.

Previously, the company filled an order from Alphabet Inc's Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) for its 3D model of San Francisco.

Aerometrex says 3D modelling is useful to those working in real estate, property development, engineering, transport, and virtual reality. The models can also replace ground-surveyed measurements by engineers and town planners.

Commentary from management

Aerometrex's managing director Mark Deuter commented on the news:

We are delighted that our 3D work is being appreciated and valued by companies working at the cutting edge of computer graphics, gaming, and computer vision. We are now working hard to expand our city coverages to enable a wider offer of city environments to this new market.

Aerometrex share price snapshot

Today's rise hasn't been enough to pull the Aerometrex share price out of its slump.

Right now, the company's shares have fallen 46% since the start of 2021. Its share price is also 44% lower than it was this time last year.

The post Aerometrex (ASX:AMX) share price soars 6% on news of metaverse deal appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The aerial mapping company's stock has soared 20% since this time last month, seemingly on the back of its financial year 2021 (FY21) earnings.

Right now, the Aerometrex share price is 83.5 cents, 6.37% higher than its previous close.

Let's take a look at the latest news from Aerometrex.

Aerometrex's FY21

The Aerometrex share price has taken off over the past 30 days.

Its gains were helped along by a huge boost to its annual reoccurring revenue. For FY21, the company reported reoccurring revenue of $4.8 million, 189% more than in FY20.

Most of the increase was due to its MetroMap subscription service, which reported 416% more statutory reoccurring revenue than it did for the previous financial year.

Aerometrex also saw its total revenue increase by 4% to $20.9 million.

Also undoubtedly helping the Aerometrex share price was the company's glowing outlook for FY22.

Following a purchase order signed by Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google for a 3D data set covering the San Francisco Bay area, Aerometrex believes it's gained traction in the US and is in a good position to grow in the region.

Aerometrex believes the market for 3D mapping in the US will soon be worth $1 billion.

Additionally, it thinks it will see further revenue growth from its MetroMap subscription service in FY22, helped along by the launch of MetroMap 3.0.

Aerometrex share price snapshot

The Aerometrex share price's recent gains haven't been enough to put it back in the green on the ASX.

It is 32% lower than it was at the start of 2021. It has also fallen 35% since this time last year.

At its current share price, the company has a market capitalisation of around $79 million with approximately 94 million shares outstanding.

The post Why the Aerometrex (ASX:AMX) share price has rocketed 20% in a month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the aerial mapping company's shares are swapping hands for 92.5 cents, up 18.5%.

What's driving the Aerometrex share price?

Investors are driving up Aerometrex shares higher, pricing in the company's future attractive prospects.

According to its release, Aerometrex advised that Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) subsidiary, Google LLC has signed a significant purchase order.

Under the agreement, Aerometrex will capture a 3D model of downtown San Francisco to add to its 3D data archive. While the revenue amount of Google's order is not material, the demand for Aerometrex's products validates its 3D data capabilities.

Furthermore, other companies within the same area of the San Francisco Bay have signalled their interest in the 3D dataset. Aerometrex is capturing the city with a very high resolution of 2-centimetre pixels.

This follows the company's efforts in establishing a United States base, which has employed high-resolution oblique aerial imagery. 3D models that have recently been constructed include the cities of Denver and Miami.

Aerometrex noted that its 3D model data is being used across a number of diverse industries. This includes urban planning, civil engineering, computer gaming, asset management, mining and coastal erosion.

The company will retain full Intellectual Property (IP) ownership of the San Francisco 3D model.

Aerometrex managing director, Mark Deuter commented:

I am very encouraged by our developments in the US market and believe that the purchase order with Google endorses our strategy and our 3D data capture capabilities.

We are gaining greater attention from large organisations whose operations cover multiple US cities and municipalities and we see significant potential to contract with these types of organisations moving forward.

What about the investor presentation?

In further news booting Aerometrex shares, the company highlighted some key points in its investor presentation to investors.

It stated that Data-as-a-Software (DaaS) subscription model is focused on the development and growth of MetroMap. The total addressable market for this segment is estimated to be around $80 million per annum in Australia. Aerometrex holds a $4.26 million slice as of March 2020, with it targeting $40 million in the foreseeable future.

In addition, 3D modelling is on track to capture more datasets within the United States market. Discussions are continuing with large global organisations with respect to their 3D opportunities. Aerometrex is looking into markets such as virtual reality and augmented reality, property and real estate, and tourism. The addressable market size for this opportunity is open-ended as international projects could reach outside the United States.

The Aerometrex share price has lost close to 50% over the past 12 months, and it's down 28% year-to-date.

The post Why the Aerometrex (ASX:AMX) share price is soaring 18% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This morning, the Aerometrex share price opened 10% higher than yesterday's close. It has since risen to 98 cents, which represents a 14.62% gain.

Let's take a closer look at today's news from the aerial imagery company.

Aerometrex revenue rises by 398% in a year

The Aerometrex share price is on a tear this morning after the company announced its recurring revenue has risen another 28% since last quarter. This quarter, its recurring revenue reached $4.26 million, 398% higher than it was as at the third quarter of the 2020 financial year.

In other news boosting Aerometrex shares, the company also reported that it has continued to receive new enterprise subscriptions to its aerial imagery service MetroMap.

MetroMap is a data-as-a-service (DAAS) aerial imagery subscription. It provides subscribers with an archive of aerial imagery, updated four times per year for capital cities and annually for major regional and rural centres.

New subscribers to MetroMap in 2021 have included Melbourne Water, Victoria's North East Water, Victorian Department of Transport, Future Generation Joint Venture (Snowy 2.0 Engineering Project), SA Water and SA Power Networks.

Commentary from management

Aerometrex managing director Mark Deuter commented on the company's significant revenue increase. He said:

MetroMap has been our primary sales focus for the past 18 months and we are delighted to be rapidly gaining market share across such a wide variety of enterprise customers, from energy and water utilities, to Government agencies, insurance and major engineering clients. Many of these customers are new to Aerometrex and have been attracted to MetroMap's outstanding quality and utility to support their operations. In addition to the substantial growth in large corporations and government departments now subscribing to MetroMap, we are also seeing strong growth in [small to medium enterprise] business subscriptions.

Aerometrex share price snapshot

Today's boost to the Aerometrex share price will come as welcome news to shareholders who have seen the value of their investment in the company fall by 21.6% year to date. Aerometrex shares have also fallen by nearly 29% over the last 12 months.

Aerometrex has a market capitalisation of around $80 million, with approximately 94 million shares outstanding.

The post Why is the Aerometrex (ASX:AMX) share price soaring 15% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The aerial imagery and mapping company announced this afternoon that it's been awarded four major projects from the Queensland Government's Spatial Imagery Subscription Program (SISP).

Let's take a closer look at what the company announced.

What's driving the Aerometrex share price?

The Aerometrex share price is on the rise after the company announced that the four projects it has won include aerial surveying of more than 170,000 square kilometres throughout Queensland.

According to the company's release, the projects represent a value increase of 10% more than last year's program from SISP, which was also won by Aerometrex.

The largest of the four projects will take place at Galilee Basin East. Aerometrex stated this project will cover an area three times the size of Belgium.

Another will be taking place between Noosa and the New South Wales border. One will include a few townships around the Scenic Rim and the final project will be in North Queensland.

Aerometrex has stated that work is to begin on the projects next month.

Commentary from management

Aerometrex managing director Mark Deuter commented on the company's positive update:

 We are pleased to continue our partnership with the Queensland Government, having first commenced work with the Department in 2009, and we are especially pleased to have been awarded the majority of the SISP contract this year. The result endorses our commitment to capturing high-quality imagery, to generate outstanding data products and to exceed expectations of delivery timelines.

Aerometrex share price snapshot

The Aerometrex share price started the day off slowly, opening 0.7 cents lower than Friday's close of 99.7 cents. It then faced a morning of sluggish trade.

After announcing its new contract, however, Aerometrex's shares started to trend upwards.

The company's share price has dropped by 22% since this time last month, leaving it down 16% year to date. Although, its still up by around 22% over the last 12 months.  

Aerometrex has a market capitalisation of around $94 million with approximately 94 million shares outstanding.

The post Here's why the Aerometrex (ASX:AMX) share price is up 5% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Let's take a closer look and see what Aerometrex updated the ASX market with.

New product solution

The Aerometrex share price is faltering today as investors appear unfazed by the company's positive update.

According to this morning's release, Aerometrex advised that it has launched its online MetroMap 3D Store. Targeted to small-to-medium sized businesses (SME), the new offering allows customers to access Aerometrex's off-the-shelf 3D modeled data. This presents an attractive opportunity for the company as it had not previously addressed the lucrative SME market.

Prior to the opening of the MetroMap 3D Store online, customers could only access 2D imagery and 3D model data. This occurred through a subscription. However, users are now able to define geographical locations and select their preferred data format when purchasing the 3D datasets. This is then quickly sent electronically helping the customer make informed decisions.

Aerometrex stated that its clients will have access to the most recent data on file. Additionally, they will be notified when new updates are available.

What did the managing director say?

Aerometrex managing director Mark Deuter commented:

This new product solution by Aerometrex meets the requirements of the Company's customers at their time and point of need and supports us to truly penetrate the large SME market opportunity with a no-touch sales approach. The launch of our MetroMap 3D Store builds on the release of our MetroMap LiDAR data which is also available for purchase on-line.

We see further avenues to enhance our product offering, with a development path to offer Digital Terrain Model and Digital Surface Model data on the same online store, as well as Artificial Intelligence-derived analytics.

Aerometrex share price snapshot

The Aerometrex share price has fallen heavily in the past 12 months, losing close to 40% of its value. The company's shares hit an all-time low of 70 cents in March 2020 before rebounding to $1.84 in May. However, since then, its shares have continued to trend lower, reflecting concerns about its current operating environment caused by COVID-19.

The post What's with the Aerometrex (ASX:AMX) share price today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In afternoon trade the aerial mapping company's shares are up a sizeable 9% to $1.31.

Why is the Aerometrex share price surging higher?

Investors have been buying Aerometrex shares today following the release of an update on its US operations.

According to the release, the Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) rival has signed its first enterprise client in the United States market. And while the company hasn't named the customer, the release explains that it is a leading US Defence contractor.

In addition, although the financial impact of the sale is immaterial, management believes it is an exciting milestone in the company's growth strategy.

It explained that the sale is for a specific project and has the potential to develop into a much larger program in the future.

In the meantime, Aerometrex is continuing to pursue large enterprise opportunities in the US and notes that it has been gaining traction.

Aerometrex's Managing Director, Mark Deuter, commented: "The US market provides a tremendous growth opportunity for Aerometrex's 3D modelling and aerial imagery. We have carefully planned out our growth strategy for the US market, and the signing of our first enterprise client in the US is an exciting step as we begin commercialising our technology in this market. We have been gaining good traction in the US and look forward to announcing further new client signings."

Supporting this growth will be its team of trained sales and technical staff in the US. Its sales staff are located in California, Florida, and Denver. Whereas its imagery capture program is centred in Denver. All production and delivery services continue to be headquartered in Adelaide.

Management also revealed that despite the impact of COVID-19, it is proceeding with its US 3D capture program. It has now captured the downtown (Central Business District) areas of the City of Denver, Centennial, Orlando, and Miami. A capture program of San Francisco will be undertaken at the next available weather opportunity

The post Why the Aerometrex (ASX:AMX) share price is surging 9% higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's why they should be on your watchlists:

Aerometrex Ltd (ASX: AMX)

Aerometrex is a growing aerial mapping business. It specialises in aerial photography, photogrammetry, LiDAR, 3D modelling, and aerial imagery subscription services. The latter is through its MetroMap offering, which provides access to high quality 2D imagery and 3D reality mesh models. The company has been busy developing new products to strengthen its offering and in October announced a new bush fire prevention product. This new technology is able to determine, in three dimensions, the exact fuel load densities in any bushfire prone region in Australia.

Analysts at Morgans are positive on the company's prospects and currently have an add rating and $1.83 price target on its shares. This compares to the current Aerometrex share price of $1.13. It notes that the company's shares are trading at a significant discount to rival Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA).

Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8)

Another small cap share to watch is Audinate. It is a digital audio-visual networking technologies provider that is best known for its innovative Dante audio over IP networking solution. This industry-leading product is used widely across the professional live sound, commercial installation, broadcast, and recording industries globally.

Management recently revealed that the number of Dante enabled products manufactured by its customers has now grown to 2,804. This is eight times greater than its nearest rival, making it the clear industry leader.

UBS is a fan of the company and has a buy rating and $8.00 price target on the company's shares at present. It has been impressed with its recovery from the pandemic and notes that its first quarter result was well ahead of its expectations.

The post Put these small cap ASX shares on your watchlists today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

I think they could be among the most exciting shares at the small end of the market right now. Here's why they should be on your watchlists:

Aerometrex Ltd (ASX: AMX)

The first ASX small cap share to add to your watchlist is Aerometrex. It is a growing aerial mapping business specialising in aerial photography, LiDAR, and aerial imagery subscription services. It is arguably best-known for its MetroMap offering, which allows users to access high quality 2D imagery and 3D reality mesh models. This provides an easy-to-consume product for varied applications across a diverse range of industries. 

In addition to this, the company has been developing new products and recently announced a new bush fire prevention product. This new technology can determine the exact fuel load densities in any bushfire prone region in Australia. Management believes the breakthrough could allow users to adopt a far more science-based and pre-emptive fuel load strike position ahead of this year's bushfire season. Given the importance of bushfire prevention, this development could give its sales a boost.

Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8)

Another small cap to look at is Audinate. It is a digital audio-visual networking technologies provider best known for its industry-leading Dante audio over IP networking solution. This product is used widely across a number of industries and has a clear lead over the competition.

In fact, management notes that the number of Dante enabled products manufactured by its customers is materially more than the nearest competitor. At the end of FY 2020, there were 2,804 Dante-enabled products on the market, which is eight times greater than rival Cobranet. I believe this bodes well for its growth over the coming years, once the pandemic passes.

The post 2 exciting small cap ASX shares that should be on your watchlist appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

While they still have a lot of work ahead of them, I believe both have the potential to grow into much large entities in the future if all goes to plan.

Here's why I'm watching them closely:

Aerometrex Ltd (ASX: AMX)

Aerometrex is a growing aerial mapping business specialising in aerial photography, photogrammetry, LiDAR, 3D modelling, and aerial imagery subscription services. The latter is through its MetroMap offering, which provides access to high quality 2D imagery and 3D reality mesh models. The company has been busy developing new products to strengthen its offering and recently announced a new bush fire prevention product.

This new technology is able to determine, in three dimensions, the exact fuel load densities in any bushfire prone region in Australia. Management believes the breakthrough could allow users to adopt a far more science-based and pre-emptive fuel load strike position ahead of this year's bushfire season. All in all, Aerometrex is starting to look like the next Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA).

MyDeal.com.au Limited (ASX: MYD)

MyDeal.com.au is a recently listed online retail marketplace provider with a focus on furniture, homewares, appliances, technology, baby products, and hardware. It has been a strong performer in FY 2021, delivering first quarter gross sales growth of 317% to $56.67 million. This was underpinned by the shift to online shopping and a 268% increase in active customers to 669,897.

The company raised $40 million from its IPO and intends to use the proceeds to drive future growth. This includes growing its private label business, investing in its proprietary technology, and investing in advertising to grow its customer base and brand. If it can continue its strong form and invests its funds wisely, we could be looking at the next Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN).

The post Are these small cap ASX shares the next Kogan (ASX:KGN) and Nearmap (ASX:NEA)? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares that have not let that hold them back today are listed below. Here's why they are pushing higher:

Aerometrex Ltd (ASX: AMX)

The Aerometrex share price is up 3% to $1.34 after announcing a new product. The aerial mapping company has developed a new technology that is able to determine, in three dimensions, the exact fuel load densities in any bushfire prone region in Australia. It believes the breakthrough should allow users to adopt a far more science-based and pre-emptive fuel load strike position ahead of this year's bushfire season.

Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS)

The Healius share price has climbed 6% higher to $3.65. Investors have been buying the healthcare company's shares after the release of its first quarter update. That update revealed that Healius recorded revenue of $492.5 million and underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $81.2 million during the quarter. This represents an increase of 17.5% and 150%, respectively, on the prior corresponding period. COVID-19 testing played a key role in this growth.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

The Megaport share price is up 1% to $14.72. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of UBS this morning. The broker has upgraded the leading elastic interconnection services provider's shares to a buy rating with a $16.45 price target following its first quarter update. It was pleased to see strong growth in new ports during the three months.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

The Temple & Webster share price has bounced back from a heavy decline on Wednesday and is up 3% to $11.99. This morning analysts at Goldman Sachs retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on the online homewares and furniture retailer's shares to $12.85. This follows a trading update yesterday which revealed stronger growth than the broker expected. 

The post Why Aerometrex, Healius, Megaport, & Temple & Webster shares are pushing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What did Aerometrex announce?

This morning the Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) rival announced that it has developed a new technology that is able to determine, in three dimensions, the exact fuel load densities in any bushfire prone region in Australia.

The aerial mapping company believes the breakthrough should allow emergency authorities, government, and communities to adopt a far more science-based and pre-emptive fuel load strike position ahead of this year's bushfire season.

Management advised that this product is an advance of its existing LIDAR (Light Detecting and Ranging) technology. It was developed by the company's research and development team over 2020 in consultation with government and industry following the disastrous Black Summer fires across Australia last summer.

How does it work?

The release explains that the system employs up to two million individual laser pulses per second. These are emitted from a sensor within an aircraft as it flies above the area of interest.

The system then measures the time taken for each laser pulse to travel down to the surface and get reflected back up to the aircraft. This allows the precise location of the point of reflectance to be calculated in three dimensions. Positively, it can be applied regardless of location, topography, or ground cover.

This delivers a far more accurate image of vegetation and is more sensitive to variations in vegetation structure and density compared to remote sensing techniques such as satellite imagery and RADAR. After which, data from the advanced LIDAR technology allows for the extraction of understorey fuel load estimates that would otherwise be fully obscured from view in satellite or aerial imagery by overlying canopy.

Management notes that the outcomes and product development from its research are both timely and relevant following the detailed recommendations of the Bushfire Royal Commission, state-level bushfire inquiries, and the final reports published by the Bushfire & Natural Hazards CRC.

This is because many of these reports highlighted remote sensing technologies such as LIDAR as critical resources that have the potential to revolutionise bushfire management and response practices.

The post Aerometrex (ASX:AMX) share price on watch after announcing new bushfire product appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Let's take a look at the company's MetroMap developments.

What is MetroMap?

Aerometrex's flagship service, MetroMap, is an online imagery web-serving application that offers high-quality imagery to a subscriber base. Each year, MetroMap provides its users up to four captures of each major capital city, and regional towns.

The company operates in an array of sectors including government, urban planning, construction, mining, transport, telecommunications, insurance and marketing.

Aerometrex estimates the addressable market opportunity for its service to be roughly between $75 million to $85 million annually.

MetroMap developments

The Aerometrex share price is flat today despite the company advising it has rolled out its MetroMap aerial imagery capture program to cover over 75% of the Australian population. The company said it flew over every capital city as well as 49 regional cities and towns within three months.

The increased coverage has been using Aerometrex's large-format aerial camera system, MetroCam. This is a high-resolution camera that captures high-quality images at a 5cm pixel size. The company said its system is a 36:1 pixel ratio improvement on the best available commercial satellite imagery.

In addition, Aerometrex implemented a processing workflow and software system for its MetroCam service. The new system, called Pixel Cruncher, is designed to speed orthophoto processing by 800%. The critical component will see processing times reduce substantially to 12 to 24 hours, as opposed to one week.

What did the CEO say?

Aerometrex Managing Director, Mark Deuter, commented on MetroMap's new developments. He said:

We have clearly demonstrated our ability to scale up MetroMap to a massive capture and processing program while still maintaining accuracy and further improving the quality and resolution of the product. Turnaround times for image processing are the equal if not better than any comparable product in the market.

We are very pleased to be providing the same quality and resolution of imagery to regional cities and towns as our major capital cities. The value of our MetroMap offering is increasing daily and is being appreciated by our subscribers.

About the Aerometrex share price

The Aerometrex share price has risen 87% since falling to its 52-week low of 70 cents in March. Although materially higher of late, the Aerometrex share price is down over 30% since the start of the calendar year and nearly 50% from its all-time high achieved in February.

The post Aerometrex (ASX:AMX) share price flat despite positive update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In afternoon trade the aerial mapping company's shares are up 4% to $1.23.

Why is the Aerometrex share price pushing higher?

Investors have been buying the Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) rival's shares today after the release of a positive trading update.

That update revealed that the company has delivered significant growth in its aerial imagery subscription service MetroMap following the signing of Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN), Geoscape Australia, and a number of other corporates during the first quarter.

According to the release, Suncorp has selected Aerometrex's subscription-based service MetroMap as its aerial imagery provider for data analytics. It will provide the banking and insurance giant with geospatially accurate imagery over more than 8.5 million residences across capital cities and selected regional towns in Australia.

Combined with its Geoscape Australia deal, management estimates that these two contracts are worth a minimum of $860,000. They also represent an important step forward for MetroMap in the areas of insurance and AI-derived data generation, respectively.

Thanks partly to these deals, at the end of the quarter the company's annualised recurring revenue (ARR) increased 65.7% quarter on quarter to $2.75 million.

Management believes this reflects the growing uptake of MetroMap by large corporate organisations as well as SMEs. It also notes that this growth has been largely achieved during the period most affected by general economic uncertainty over COVID-19.

What is MetroMap?

MetroMap is an online imagery web-serving application offering Aerometrex's high-quality and accurate imagery to its customers via a DaaS (Data as a Service) subscription model.

The product offers its subscribers four captures per annum for each major capital city, in addition to annual rural and regional city captures. Management notes that the service fulfils all of the quality and accuracy requirements of sophisticated geospatial data users and provides an easy-to-consume product for the corporate market, via a web browser interface.

The company estimates that there is a current addressable market in Australia of approximately $75 million to $80 million annually. It feels this provides it with a significant market to grow into.

The post Here's why the shares of this Nearmap (ASX:NEA) rival are surging higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Of course, companies like Afterpay only come around so often. However, the idea is to monitor the share market news and look into ASX shares that present strong growth potential.

If you can identify a quality ASX growth share, it could be worth a fortune down the track.

Below, I have picked two ASX growth shares I believe have the potential to turn $5,000 into $100,000 in under a decade.

2 ASX growth shares to help turn $5,000 into $100,000

Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: RCE)

Recce is a medical company that is involved in development of synthetic antibodies for the treatment of blood infections and sepsis. The Australian biotech has been creating tailwinds over the past few months with a number of positive announcements.

Just today, Recce updated the market on its fight against COVID-19 with upbeat results. The Reece 327 (R327) and Reece 529 (R529) compounds showed reductions in the virus in an in-vitro study using organoids made from human airway epithelial cells.

The Recce share price is up almost 400% in year-to-date-trading, closing today's session 12.5% higher at $1.62. The promising medical company has a market capitalisation of just $237 million. If it can reach the likes of investor favourite Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB) which has a market capitalisation of $2.75 billion, then shareholders could be expecting returns for Recce of more than 1000%.

Aerometrex Ltd (ASX: AMX)

Aerometrex is an aerial mapping company specialising in aerial imagery, photography, LiDAR, 3D modelling and aerial imagery subscription services. The company operates throughout Australia, and has delivered contract work to Europe, New Zealand and the United States.

The Aerometrex share price has fallen nearly 37% during year-to-date-trading as COVID-19 continues to weigh down the broader market. Pleasingly, however, the company advised it had seen minimal impact to its operations in light of the restrictions.

Aerometrex performed strongly in its FY20 results released last month. The aerial mapping specialist reported growth in key sectors such as its LiDAR and 3D portfolio as well as its MetroMap subscription-based service.

With a market capitalisation of just $120 million, this ASX growth share can currently be bought for $1.27. Aerometrex's closest competitor Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) is trading at $3.00 and has a market capitalisation of $1.36 billion. This means that Nearmap is more than 10 times bigger than Aerometrex. So, should Aerometrex deliver in the coming years, the potential rewards could be huge for shareholders.

Foolish takeaway

I think both these ASX growth shares are poised to go materially higher in the near future. Depending on your risk profile, however, I would suggest allocating no more than around 5% of your portfolio to small-cap ASX growth shares.

The post How I'd turn $5,000 into $100,000 with ASX growth shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What's moving the Aerometrex share price?

The Aerometrex share price is this morning being sold down despite the company reporting strong growth across the overall business in its FY20 report. This was driven predominately by the company's LiDAR and 3D segments. Total revenue for the aerial mapping specialist came in at $20.09 million, an increase of 24.7% on FY19's revenue of $16.1 million.

Normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 8.7% to $4.6 million. This was due to the company's investment in sensor and aircraft assets to support future growth.

Aerometrex recorded a positive cashflow from operations of $8.1 million, up 60% and a strong cash position of $22.2 million.

COVID-19 impact

The business advised that there was no material impact in FY20 from COVID-19, however it expects some logistical challenges due to border closures in the near future. Furthermore, crews have remained in the field longer which has had added some costs to the company.

Aerometrex has $4.5 million of undrawn debt facilities should the need arise to see the company through the pandemic.

What did management say?

Aerometrex Managing Director, Mark Deuter, said:

The Company is continuing to grow strongly in our subscription service MetroMap, in LiDAR and in 3D modelling. We are continuing to execute the growth plans put forward in our Prospectus of December 2019. The Company's earnings have to a large degree offset cash expenditure on growth and it is pleasing to see a robust normalised EBITDA figure. We are excited at the new capabilities and developments arising from our increased R&D expenditure and we look forward to a successful FY21.

Outlook

Aerometrex did not provide any guidance going into FY21 as it will focus on its near-term strategic priorities. The continued growth of MetroMap has been building in the initial weeks of FY21 with annual recurring revenue (ARR) jumping from $1.66 million at the end of the financial year to $2.87 million at the end of August.

The aerial mapping specialist also expects to see opportunities from its acquisition of Spookfish Australia which will bump up revenue in the coming year.

In the business' overseas operations, the company has established a base in the United States to capitalise on the significant 3D growth prospects. Aerometrex is currently in ongoing discussions with multinational technology and gaming companies.

About the Aerometrex share price

The Aerometrex share price has regained 89% since its March low of 70 cents. However, since the beginning of the calendar year, the Aerometrex share price is trading 34% lower.

The post Aerometrex share price crashes 6% on FY20 results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

It is important to keep in mind that share markets factor in the impact of negative events fairly quickly, and although we don't know if we have hit the bottom of the market yet, I believe that the worst of the share market falls are probably behind us.

The ASX tech sector in particular has seen heavy falls recently, however the underlying fundamentals of most of these companies still remain strong, and most remain well positioned for long term growth.

Here are 2 of my top ASX tech share picks right now.

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

Altium writes software to help design printed circuit boards for a broad range of electronic devices, from computers to cars, and an increasing number of devices that that make up the 'Internet of Things'. All these devices will play an increasingly important role in our lives over the next decade.

Altium has operations in the US, Europe, China, the Middle East and Africa. During the first half of FY20, Altium reported revenue of US$92.9 million, a 19% increase over the prior corresponding period. The company has a very solid balance sheet with no debt on its books.

I believe that the growing need for electronics through the rise of smart connected devices will see continued demand for Altium's products over the next 5–10 years. Altium does have a relatively high price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 47, however I feel that this figure is still reasonable for a tech share with strong long term growth potential.

Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)

Nearmap provides geospatial map technology for businesses, enterprises and government, with a customer base that spans across Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Canada.

The sharp recent correction to the Nearmap share price has offered investors a good opportunity to purchase this ASX tech share at a more favourable price, in my view.

Nearmap's recent investments in sales and marketing in North America appear to be on track and are delivering some positive results. Nearmap recently commented that it will look to other geographies in the future, possibly next year, however its current strategy outside of Australia still remains very much in North America.

Additionally, while there are other competitors out there in the market such as Aerometrex Ltd (ASX: AMX), no company globally has yet been able to replicate Nearmap's subscription-based business model.

The post 2 ASX tech shares offering strong long term growth potential appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In morning trade the aerial mapping company's shares are up a massive 24% to $1.30.

Why is the Aerometrex share price storming higher?

This morning Aerometrex followed the lead of rival Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) by releasing a coronavirus update of its own.

On Thursday the Nearmap share price zoomed higher after it revealed that demand for its services remained robust despite the outbreak.

As you might have guessed from its share price reaction this morning, demand for Aerometrex's services remains strong to date.

According to the release, the positive trends described in the company's first half result have continued in March. It notes that it has a strong pipeline of committed work for the second half of FY 2020, with very few deferred or cancelled projects.

Management also revealed that its MetroMap subscription service is continuing to attract new subscribers and adding revenues.

In fact, less than two weeks ago the company won five projects within the Queensland Government's Spatial Imagery Subscription Program for aerial imagery services. This program is managed by the Queensland Government's Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, and has a total value of ~$1 million.

And in respect to business disruption from the outbreak, the company is optimistic it will be able to continue operating its fleet of aircraft. It has applied for an essential services exemption, with best practice procedures in place to ensure safety of aircrew and the public.

Balance sheet strength.

The company was also quick to point out that it has a strong balance sheet. At the end of the first half, Aerometrex had over $22 million in cash and an undrawn $6 million debt facility.

Looking ahead, any major expenditure or capital investment requirements of the business will be underpinned by contracted work or revenue increases.

The company's managing director, Mark Deuter, commented: "Like many Australian businesses we are responding quickly to the dynamic situation presented by the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We have taken steps to ensure the well-being of all staff and comply with advice from State and Federal governments."

"Aerometrex has been in operation for 40 years and historically we have seen a steady demand for our services throughout economic cycles. We are confident that we have made the best preparations to look after our people and to ensure the ongoing success of our business," he concluded.

The post This ASX tech share and Nearmap rival is surging 24% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Despite the positive news, Aerometrex shares are following the broader market down in early trade and have already plummeted 7.09% so far this morning.

What does Aerometrex do?

Aerometrex is a mapping business specialising in aerial photography, photogrammetry, LiDAR, 3D modelling, and aerial imagery subscription services and was recently listed on the ASX.

Aerometrex operates across Australia, and since 2015 has also delivered contract work in France, Germany, New Zealand and the United States.

It provides its products and services to a growing client base which includes Google, the Australian Government, CSIRO, and Microsoft.

The company's key rival in the Australian market is Nearmap.

Major win with the Queensland Government

Aerometrex announced to the market today that it had won 5 projects within the Queensland Government's Spatial Imagery Subscription Program for aerial imagery services.

This program is managed by the Queensland Government's Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, and the total value of the 5 projects amounts to $1 million plus GST.

The 2 major projects cover the South East Queensland and Surat Basin North areas, along with North Queensland and the areas categorised as 'Remote Towns North' and 'Rural Towns'.

The company noted that the work is set to commence from April through to July this year and is scheduled to conclude in the third and fourth quarters.

Aerometrex has been involved with Queensland Government's aerial surveying programs since 2009 and currently employs 30 staff in Queensland. Its key Queensland bases are located at Buderim on the Sunshine Coast and at Brisbane's Archerfield Airport.

Recap of recent financial results

For the 6 months ended 31 December 2019, Aerometrex recorded a 44.3% increase in revenue over the prior corresponding period to $10.1 million. Normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation grew even more strongly, increasing by 64.5% to $2.2 million during the first half. Aerometrex achieved positive operating cashflow over the 6 months.

The company appears to be fairly well positioned for growth, assisted by the raising $25 million from an IPO late last year. These funds will be used to capitalise on the high level of demand for imagery and mapping services, however it currently has a significant scale disadvantage compared to its major rival Nearmap.

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