Windward (WNWD), a leading maritime AI company, has followed strong first-half growth in its commercial business with several government contract wins and renewals in the second half of 2023, reflecting US budgetary cycles.
That includes two new contracts with two US government customers, and four new contracts in its Rest of World government segment. Additionally, a contract renewal with the Nigerian government is expected to contribute an extra $1 million in annual contract value for three years.
The company said it’s on track to meet market expectations for the year ending on December 31, 2023. Brokers currently expect sales to climb 18% to $25.6m in FY23 and an Ebitda loss of $7.85m, with Ebitda breakeven expected in FY25 when sales are expected to reach $36.1m.
Ami Daniel, Co-Founder and CEO of Windward, commented: "The need for greater visibility across all facets of the maritime industry is driving adoption of our maritime AI platform, both in the public and commercial markets. Having built a robust, global SaaS business, an international sales team and a growing, blue chip customer base, we are confident in maintaining momentum into Q4, trading comfortably in line with FY23 market expectations."
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New contract wins and no customer churn show that Windward is making itself an integral part of the shipping industry, allowing stakeholders including banks, commodity traders, insurers, and major energy and shipping companies to make real-time, predictive data-driven decisions.
Changes in maritime regulation and the huge scale of monitoring activity at sea will require migrations to digital martime domain awareness (MDA) systems supported by artificial intelligence, not unlike the development of air traffic control in previous decades.
That leaves Windward much space to grow into, as MDA uptake increases to tackle national security, law enforcement, vessel safety, and environmental protection, as well as improving the efficiency of seaborne trade.
What’s more, and as Windward’s ACV growth also demonstrates, contracts in the MDA space tend to be long, with predictable follow-ons and long-term revenue visibility.