Qlik Technologies to Take Itself Public

Published: April 12, 2010

by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Here's something you don't see every day in the tech industry, and you certainly don't see very often in any company affiliated with the IBM midrange: one of them going public.

Qlik Technologies, which peddles Windows-based business intelligence that interfaces with AS/400 and i systems, has been growing like crazy in recent years and is ready to get some cash from Wall Street to take it up to the next level. The company filed its S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to kick off the process, which you can read here.

The Swedish company moved to Radnor, Pennsylvania, a number of years back to get a better beachhead in the States, and that has been great for business. Between 2005 and 2009, the company has grown from 1,500 customers to over 13,000 and revenues have grown at a 59 percent compounded rate over that term. Amazingly, in the final quarter of 2009, when the economic recovery was still faltering, QlikTech posted an astounding 74 percent growth in sales, to $61.7 million, compared to the prior year's final quarter. The economic downturn in late 2008 and early 2009 only seemed to help the company find its customers better.

In 2007, we learn from the S-1, QlikTech had license sales of $51.5 million, maintenance sales of $17.7 million, and professional services revenues of $11.4 million, for a total of $80.6 million. The company had a net loss of $365,000, which is no big deal in the scheme of things. In 2008, license sales rose by 44.6 percent to $74.4 million, maintenance revenues spiked by 65.7 percent to $29.4 million, and professional services managed to grow by 26.9 percent to $14.4 million. (This was in an environment when most software companies saw license fees and professional services and training sales tank.) Last year, license sales continued to grow by 34.1 percent, hitting $99.9 million; maintenance streams kept roaring as the base grew, up 40.8 percent to $41.4 million, and professional services eked out a mere (said with tongue firmly in cheek) 11.7 percent growth to $16.1 million. Total sales came to $157.4 million, up 33.1 percent over 2008, and net earnings came to $6.9 million, up 29.1 percent.

QlikTech ended 2009 with $24.8 million in cash and equivalents, but wants investors to kick in a bigger war chest so it can grow more. The company hopes to raise more than $100 million from its IPO. About $6.9 million of that will go to pay off some debts, and the rest will be used to grow the company.

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