Good morning and welcome to Trade Window Holdings Limited's 2025 Annual General Shareholders Meeting. My name is Alasdair Macleod. I'm the Chair of the company. We'll be presenting a series of slides that have been released to the NZX and are also now available on the TradeWindow website. Before proceeding, I would first direct your attention to slide three and the important notice regarding this presentation. On slide four, I also have a couple of housekeeping points to draw to your attention. Today's meeting is being held online via the Computershare online meeting platform. If you have a question to submit during the live meeting, the Q&A is always open, so please feel free to submit questions throughout the meeting. These will be addressed at the relevant time. Questions may be moderated or, if we receive multiple questions on one topic, amalgamated together.
Any questions not answered in time will receive an email response after the meeting. Voting will be conducted by way of a poll on all items of business, and I will shortly open the voting for all resolutions. On slide five, if you are eligible to vote at this meeting, you will be able to cast your vote under the vote tab. Once the voting has opened, the resolutions will allow votes to be submitted. You can change your vote up until the time I declare voting closed. I now declare voting open on all items of business. I'll give you a warning before I move to close voting. Turning to slide six, let me introduce you to my fellow directors joining me today.
AJ Smith, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, and I have to let you all know that AJ is suffering a significant chest infection, so he's delegated his presentation today to the next on the list, Executive Director Kerry Friend. AJ will still be available to answer questions at the end if required. Independent Director Phil Norman has tendered his apology. He is also suffering from a severe chest infection. Also joining us online are Vikas Gupta and Matthew Pope from our auditors, UHY Haines Norton Sydney, and Ian Beaumont, our legal counsel from Russell. Also present are members of our senior management team, Andrew Balgarnie , our Chief Strategy Officer and Company Secretary, and Deidre Campbell , our CFO. You can find the details of all directors and the senior management team on our website. The company's constitution prescribes a quorum of 10 shareholders. I can confirm that this requirement has been met.
Accordingly, I declare the meeting formally open. The items of business for this meeting are contained in the notice of meeting, which was sent to shareholders on the 7th of August. In terms of the order of the meeting, I will give an overview of the past financial year. I will then hand you over to Kerry on behalf of AJ for an update on strategy with detail on growth opportunities being pursued by the company. He will cover the outlook for financial year 2026 and then hand back to me for the formal matters of the meeting. It is at this time we will allow for shareholder questions and discussion of our presentation and resolutions before the meeting. Moving on to slide seven, recapping our results for the financial year ended 31 March, 2025, a year defined by disciplined execution, strong growth, and meaningful progress toward financial sustainability.
We delivered trading revenue of NZD 8 million, up 30% on the prior year. This result landed at the upper end of our guidance and marks a record for both absolute value and organic growth. It's a clear signal that our strategy is working. Our annual recurring revenue grew even faster, up 38% to NZD 8.7 million, driven by a strong fourth quarter, with the team closed several high-value deals in the final weeks of the year. Moving on to slide eight. Importantly, we achieved monthly EBITDA breakeven during March, a key milestone we set out to reach. Our full-year EBITDA loss narrowed significantly to NZD 1.5 million, down 77% from the previous year's NZD 6.6 million. Our net loss after tax also improved markedly, reducing to NZD 3.5 million from NZD 8 million last year, a testament to our focused cost management and operational discipline.
We closed the year with NZD 0.4 million in cash and cash equivalents. Subsequent to the balance date, we raised NZD 600,000 through a private placement. These funds strengthened our financial position. Over the past year, we have materially improved our capital efficiency. Our average monthly cash consumption reduced from NZD 0.5 million in financial year 2024 to just NZD 0.2 million in financial year 2025. Taken together, these results reflect a business that is scaling with purpose, managing costs with discipline, and building a foundation for sustainable growth. We're confident in our ability to maintain current operations and continue executing on our strategic roadmap. On slide nine, in a market defined by rapid evolution and expanding opportunity, success is not merely a function of strategy, it is a reflection of culture. At Trade Window, we believe that capitalizing on the market's growth trends requires more than innovative technology and global reach.
It demands a strong and cohesive culture, one that aligns our people, sharpens our execution, and sustains our momentum. Our values are lived, they're not something we simply aspire to. They form the bedrock of our team culture and guide every decision we make in pursuit of growth and financial stability. Sustainability, whether it's challenging the definition of possible, delivering the smartest solutions as one team, or making every minute and dollar count, our values shape how we show up every day in every market. This culture has united a globally distributed team of subject matter experts across New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, and the U.S.A. It's a culture that values diversity of thought, honesty, and openness. By embedding accountability throughout Trade Window, we cultivate ownership, accelerate results, and strengthen execution. This is how we turn strategy into impact. This is how we scale.
On that note, I'll now hand over to Kerry on behalf of AJ to run through our growth strategy and outlook. Kerry.
Thank you, Alasdair, and welcome to everyone joining us today. Moving on to slide 11, we foresee growth continuing, driven not by fleeting trends, but by enduring structural shifts in global trade. The slide before you outlines five key forces that are not only reshaping the industry, but also reinforcing the relevance and scalability of our solutions. Let me briefly unpack how each of these factors is expected to contribute to sustained revenue growth. The exponential rise of e-commerce is fundamentally altering supply chain dynamics, with more goods crossing borders at higher frequency, and the need for digital trade infrastructure has never been greater. Trade Window's solutions are increasingly embedded in these workflows, enabling freight forwarders to operate with speed, accuracy, and compliance. This translates into higher transaction volumes and deeper customer engagement, both key drivers of recurring revenue.
Across the globe, businesses are accelerating the shift from manual to digital operations. By automating and streamlining workflows and enhancing data movement and visibility, we not only reduce friction for our clients, but also create scalable monetization pathways. In an era of persistent disruption, from geopolitical tensions to climate-related events, resilience is no longer optional. Our solutions empower customers to respond dynamically, reroute shipments, and maintain compliance under pressure. This reliability fosters long-term customer relationships and increases platform stickiness, driving sustained revenue through retention and upsell opportunities. Trade and customs requirements are only getting more regulated and more complex, not less. As governments tighten controls and introduce new compliance requirements, businesses are seeking partners who can simplify the complexity. Trade Window's regulatory intelligence and automation capabilities make us indispensable in this environment. As regulation intensifies, so does demand for our solutions.
The global trade landscape is fluid, shaped by shifting tariffs, emerging markets, and evolving consumer expectations. Trade Window's agility allows us to adapt quickly, whether it's launching new modules, entering new markets, or responding to policy changes. This responsiveness ensures we remain relevant and revenue positive, even amid volatility. In summary, these conditions are not headwinds, they're tailwinds. Trade Window is strategically aligned with the forces driving global trade forward. I'm now on slide 12. Our strategy is built around a powerful flywheel, one that turns faster with each success, compounding our momentum across innovation, customer growth, and market expansion. At the center of this flywheel is financial sustainability. It is not just a metric, it's our engine. By maintaining a disciplined approach to cost and capital, we unlock the ability to reinvest in innovative market-leading solutions.
With a stable financial foundation, we're investing in Freight AI, a freight and logistics operating system that will redefine how freight forwarders operate. Our solutions become more intelligent and intuitive, with the end goal of being the first global agentic AI freight platform. With proven value and scalable solutions, we're now targeting mid-market, an underserved segment hungry for modern tools. Our innovation attracts them, and our platform will keep them. To accelerate our reach, we continue to seek strategic acquisitions that fast-track market entry and deepen our capabilities. Each acquisition feeds the flywheel, bringing new customers, new talent, and new opportunities. Moving to slide 13. Over the past year, our competitive environment has fundamentally shifted. What was once a fragmented ecosystem of shipper and forwarder-focused solutions has consolidated sharply. Today, across Australia and New Zealand, the only one real competitor remains with a full suite of freight and logistics solutions.
That's WiseTech Global . WiseTech has pursued a market share through scale, acquiring more than 55 companies over the past decade. It's a bold strategy, but one that comes at a steep operational cost and technical debt. These aren't small distractions. WiseTech will spend years rationalizing their suite of independently developed legacy solutions, aligning systems and reconciling customer expectations in various markets. For Trade Window, this is our moment where Freight AI can give us an unfair advantage. Yes, we too carry some technical debt, but the scope and scale of our challenges are vastly smaller and ring-fenced to two platforms only. We are nimble by design, which means we can move fast while others dig out. Our response is focused and bold. We're building an AI-first platform, purpose-built for SME and mid-market forwarders, a segment underserved by incumbents yet critical to global trade.
We believe that this new product will give us the unfair advantage that we would not have had if not for the fast evolution of artificial intelligence and the great use cases we have discovered related to trade. This platform isn't just a better interface, it reimagines how compliance is handled, how insight is generated, and how freight forwarders compete. We believe the next decade of supply chain innovation won't be owned by the biggest acquirer. It'll be led by those who can commercialize transformational innovation. Moving to slide 14. Over the past 40 years, we've witnessed seismic shifts in how technology is built and delivered and adopted. In the 1980s and 1990s, the PC era gave businesses localized control through on-premise software, but with heavy infrastructure and maintenance requirements. The 2000s ushered in the Internet era, transforming delivery through cloud computing, SaaS models, and mobile access.
This gave rise to platforms with scale, but also complex stacks and rising technical debt. Today, we're entering the AI era, a platform shift more profound than any before it. Agentic AI platforms, like the one we're building at Trade Window , are not simply incremental upgrades. They fundamentally rewire workflows, automate decision-making, and extract meaningful value from proprietary data. For the mid-market forwarder, often operating under resource constraints, this shift levels the playing field. Let me be clear, doing nothing is not an option, as companies will simply have to close their doors in a couple of years if they don't move. History shows us what happens when disruptive technologies arrive. When cars were introduced, it didn't take decades for the horse and cart to become obsolete. It happened in a matter of years.
Those who clung to what they knew were left behind, while those who embraced change rewrote the rules of progress. We stand at a pivotal moment, not just for Trade Window , but for the global trade ecosystem. The total addressable market for digital trade facilitation isn't merely expanding, it's accelerating. This is not incremental change, this is exponential momentum. Just a few years ago, AI-first enterprise software was emerging. Today, digitization mandates among shippers and freight forwarders are actively seeking AI-driven solutions to unlock productivity gains. The shift is no longer theoretical, it's operational. This acceleration presents a rare and powerful opportunity, but let's be clear, opportunity without action is just potential. Trade Window is moving decisively, scaling faster, innovating deeper, and partnering smarter. In a market expanding this rapidly, speed isn't just a competitive advantage, it's a prerequisite for relevance.
Importantly, in a market of this magnitude, there is ample room for growth, even with a large incumbent and newcomers. The race is on to deliver increasing utility to our customers, sharper insights, greater profitability, and enhanced productivity. Trade Window is uniquely positioned to win. Moving to slide 15, agentic AI presents a transformative opportunity to reimagine how freight forwarders operate, moving from manual intervention and reactive workflows to intelligent autonomous orchestration. This slide highlights some of the areas where a freight forwarder can use agentic AI to transform day-to-day logistics into an intelligent, self-directed workflow. Traditionally, coordinating shipments involves a flurry of emails, phone calls, and manual scheduling. Agentic AI can automate this entire process, booking carriers, optimizing routes, and syncing pickups without human intervention. The result is faster turnaround, fewer errors, and a leaner operational footprint. Disruptions are inevitable in freight. What matters is how quickly you respond.
AI won't just flag issues, it will initiate corrective actions in real time. Whether it's rerouting a delayed container or alerting a customer, the system will act proactively, reducing downtime and preserving trust. Trade data is messy. AI can extract, validate, and format it instantly, whether it's a certificate of origin, a commercial invoice, or more advanced connected data feed. This streamlines compliance, accelerates workflows, and ensures data integrity across the supply chain. Clients expect transparency. Agentic AI can be used to send proactive updates, shipment status, delays, and customs clearance before the customers even ask. This builds confidence and positions our partners as reliable, tech-enabled service providers. Market rates fluctuate daily. AI can be used to analyze trends and shipment variables to recommend optimal rates. This approach empowers forwarders to protect margins while staying competitive, especially in volatile markets. This is not traditional software.
This is agentic AI, a system that learns, adapts, and acts on behalf of freight forwarders to navigate the complexities of international trade with precision and speed. Freight AI is designed to integrate seamlessly with the tools freight forwarders use already: ERP systems, e-commerce platforms, and document and data repositories. Through intelligent data loaders, it ingests structured and unstructured data, then applies a multi-tiered rules engine to validate, classify, and enrich that data in real time. Autonomous agents, each designed to handle specific workflows within each module, which include quotation, scheduling on ocean and air carriers, warehousing, landside logistics, and more. For mid-market freight forwarders, this platform will be a game changer. It can reduce manual overhead, accelerate customs clearance, and ensure compliance across borders. More importantly, it positions Trade Window as the AI-first backbone of global trade.
We're now on slide 16, which reflects the strength of our current business model and the solid position from which we make the transition to an AI-first solution. This slide showcases a cross-section of our customer base, spanning both shippers and freight forwarders, underscoring the breadth of our market reach. Our shipper customers include some of the most prolific primary industry exporters in Australia and New Zealand. These businesses form the bedrock of our agricultural economy. Notably, freight forwarders in Australia have emerged as the primary driver of our recent growth, with an average revenue per customer in this segment increasing 33% year- on- year. This uplift signals both robust demand and scalability of our offering within this segment. Importantly, the traction we've achieved validates our strategic investment in Freight AI.
With significant untapped opportunity in the U.S., U.K., and Latin America, we are well positioned to extend our reach and capture global markets for it. I'm now on slide 17. The metrics on this slide capture the strength of Trade Window's business model, built on recurring revenue, customer loyalty, and a diversified base. Notably, 96% of our revenue is recurring, coming from subscriptions and transactions, the remaining 4% from ad hoc services and installations. Our customer retention rate is 95%, a reflection of how deeply embedded our solutions are in our customers' operations. Customers rely on us, and they stay with us in a competitive market that speaks volumes. Our revenue is well diversified. Our top 10 customers account for 26% of our base, while 74% comes from a broad base of 539 shippers and freight forwarders.
This reduces risk and shows our platform's relevance to shippers and freight forwarders across Australia and New Zealand. In short, our revenue is recurring, our customers are loyal, and our base is broad. These are the fundamentals of a resilient, scalable business. Moving on to slide 18, our revenue growth is anchored in the operational dynamics of our two core segments: Shippers and Freight Forwarders. For Shippers, growth is closely tied to the volume of shipments and the number of document transactions processed. For Freight Forwarders, it scales with the breadth and complexity of their operations across users and modules. We operate a dual business model designed to align with the distinct needs and business rhythms of each segment. Shippers engage with us through an on-demand model.
They pay a one-time onboarding fee, followed by a monthly subscription to access the platform, and then a transaction-based fee for each shipment processed. This structure allows shippers to flex their costs in line with seasonal revenue cycles, offering predictability and financial alignment. Freight Forwarders, on the other hand, subscribe to a modular platform where monthly fees are determined by the number of users and the number of modules deployed. For certain modules, such as E-commerce and Origin, we also offer an on-demand pricing option, enabling customers to pay per transaction when needed. This hybrid approach reflects the operational diversity of freight forwarders and supports scalable adoption. Freight AI will operate as a transactional model only and will have the potential to increase revenue opportunity by migrating the current client base to the new Freight AI system.
By tailoring our pricing architecture to match the unique requirements of each customer segment, we ensure flexibility, value alignment, and sustainable revenue growth across the platform. Now on slide 19, the global trade landscape is evolving rapidly, and with that evolution comes complexity. Regulatory fragmentation, geopolitical shifts, and rising demands for traceability are creating friction across supply chains. Where others see complexity, we see opportunity. This slide illustrates the scale of the opportunity: a $59 billion market growing at 10.5% annually. The fact that we are growing ahead of the market isn't incidental. It's being driven by the urgent need for smarter, faster, and more secure trade and logistics software. Mid-market freight forwarders are emerging as one of the most dynamic drivers of demand in the logistics software space.
These firms operate with the complexity of global players, managing multi-country shipments, navigating regulatory hurdles, and meeting rising customer expectations, but without the deep IT budgets of the top-tier incumbents. Our initial focus is on winning a larger stake of SME to mid-market freight forwarders, of which there are 950 in Australia, 1,200 in the United Kingdom, and 8,000 in the United States. Our secondary medium to longer-term goal is to have the majority of our freight forwarders from the mid-market operating throughout Australia and entering other markets, including and competing for 300 in the United Kingdom and 3,000 in the United States through Freight AI. It must be noted that we have left the micro freight forwarding market, which is typically single operator. Our definition for a mid-market freight forwarder is a business with more than 20 employees. They're under pressure to automate and scale their processes.
Manual data processes are no longer sustainable. Customers expect real-time tracking, instant quotes, and seamless documentation. With margins tightening, efficiency isn't a luxury; it's a necessity. Moving to slide 20 and the specifics of our financial outlook. Our compound annual growth rate since the start of commercialization in January 2020 has increased by 14 percentage points over the prior year to reach 118% as at 31 March 2025. We anticipate near-term growth coming from the combination of cross-selling to existing customers and winning new customers in Australia, where there is still a sizable opportunity. We expect the momentum from FY 2025 to continue into the current financial year. I'm now on slide 21, which shows continued momentum in the new financial year, which commenced on 1 April. Our team has delivered a record first quarter, with trading revenue increasing 30% year on year to NZD 2.3 million.
This result extends our unbroken streak of strong quarterly growth since joining the NZX in November 2021 and reflects the continued execution of our strategic priorities. Annual recurring revenue now stands at NZD 8.9 million, positioning us well to meet our FY 2026 revenue guidance range of NZD 10 million-NZD 11 million. This performance underscores the resilience of our business model and the strength of our high-quality customer base, which continues to be a key driver of sustainable growth. Average revenue per customer for shippers rose to NZD 2,209, a 7% uplift that signals improved monetization in this segment. The ARPC for freight forwarders surged 33% to NZD 1,215, highlighting increased adoption and deeper engagement from mid-market forwarders, a segment where our value proposition continues to resonate strongly.
Gross margins softened slightly to 57%, down 4 percentage points, reflecting one-time costs associated with transitioning our Trade Window freight customers from third-party cloud hosting to a solution managed by Trade Window. These investments are aligned with our long-term strategy to enhance customer experience and drive retention. Customer count declined modestly to 539, down 15 from Q1 FY 2025, consistent with our focus on retaining high-value customers and optimizing lifetime value over volume. Importantly, our customer retention rate improved significantly to 95%, up 8 percentage points, demonstrating the stickiness of our platform and the tangible value we deliver to users. R&D and commercialization expenses represented 33% of total spend, down 3 percentage points, as we begin to leverage prior investments in product development and shift towards scalable growth. I'm now on slide 22. Our acquisition strategy is designed to accelerate our transition into an AI-first freight and logistics software leader.
We see opportunities to accelerate growth and quickly build scale by acquiring incumbent software providers that serve shippers and freight forwarders. These businesses typically offer recurring revenues, diversified customer bases, and deep integration into trade workflows. They're not just vendors; they're trusted infrastructure. Our geographic focus is clear: Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. These markets are highly trade-dependent, digitally mature, and strategically aligned with our growth ambitions. They also present a number of acquisition targets, each with strong products, loyal customers, and limited capacity to modernize. That's where Trade Window steps in. By migrating these platforms to the cloud and embedding them within our ecosystem, we unlock latent value and create new revenue streams. We're targeting profitable businesses with strong free cash flow, led by operators who bring deep market knowledge and execution capability.
Beyond core freight functionality, we're also seeking adjacent competencies: solutions in compliance, analytics, and specialized logistics that can plug directly into our platform. These integrations will enhance the intelligence, reach, and utility of our offering. This is not opportunistic M&A, it's a disciplined strategy to secure a global customer base and accelerate revenue growth while building Freight AI. We're now on slide 23. In summary, we are well positioned to help our customers navigate the growing complexities of international trade. We're at a pivotal moment in the adoption of AI. We anticipate that shippers and freight forwarders will increasingly seek to automate repetitive manual processes within their operations. For both groups, adopting AI will be driven by the need to reduce cost and maintain a competitive edge in the market.
For FY 2026, we expect our revenue will be between NZD 10 million and NZD 11 million, and we're on track to be EBITDA break-even in FY 2026. Finally, we're making solid progress towards becoming a Rule-of-40 company, balancing strong revenue growth with profitability to create lasting value for our shareholders. Thank you. I will now hand you back to Alasdair.
Thanks, Kerry. We'd now be delighted to take your questions. Are there any questions?
Yep, sure! There appear to be no questions, Alasdair.
All righty, thank you, Richard. Moving on to slide 25, I will now move on to vote on the resolutions set out in the notice of meeting. Next slide. The first resolution as set out on this slide relates to the auditor's remuneration. I now propose as an ordinary resolution that, in accordance with Section 207(s) of the Companies Act of 1993, the Board be authorized to fix the remuneration of the company's auditor, UHY Haines Norton Sydney, for the ensuing year. Are there any questions or comments on the online platform?
There are no questions on the resolution, but we have a question that's come in that maybe we deal with afterwards.
Okay. Thank you for that. We'll move on to the second resolution. The following resolution relates to the ratification of the previous issue of shares since the last annual meeting. The reason for this resolution is detailed in the notice of meeting, which I will take as read. I now propose as an ordinary resolution that, in accordance with NZX Listing Rule 4.5.1(c), shareholders approve and ratify for all purposes the previous share issue of 3,333,329 fully paid-out ordinary shares in Trade Window Holdings Limited to select investors pursuant to private placement at an issue price of NZD 0.18 per share, which were allotted on 24th June 2025. Are there any questions or comments from the online platform?
No, no questions related to this resolution, Alasdair.
Thank you for that. I'll now move on to slide 28. You can see the proxies that have been cast for the resolutions. May I remind you that voting on these resolutions remains open. While the voting continues, we can move on to other business. Richard, you made reference to there was one question that came through.
Yes, this question comes from the New Zealand Shareholders Association. It was what backend technologies do you use in particular in terms of cloud service or an AI engine? How tightly linked are your tools to these technologies? If a significantly better AI engine got released tomorrow, how hard would it be to shift?
I'm going to pass that one on to AJ and hope that his coughing is under control. AJ.
Hi there. Sorry guys, we strategically designed our solution not to be embedded in any specific technology. We keep ourselves neutral and basically don't buy into any of the learning models, but rather take on a neutral approach. By design, I can confirm that our product has been looked through some of the top AI consultants, and we continually do so. To answer the question, sorry, just running out of breath, we are neutral in our approach and our design and architecture. Thank you.
Thanks, AJ. Any other questions? Richard?
There's been no other questions.
Okay, it's my intention to close the voting very shortly. I request you submit your vote smartly. I'll just pause for a few seconds here. Voting is now closed. On behalf of the Board, I thank you all for your attendance at this meeting. We'll be announcing the results of the poll to the stock exchange this afternoon. Thank you, and I now declare the meeting...