2019's best and worst performing Australian tech stocks

As the 2019 financial year comes to a close, CRN examined the stock market performance of Australian technology companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

We compared the stock price of each company as of 21 June 2019 with the price from exactly one year prior (where applicable).

There were some standouts that delivered strong shareholder returns and a few others that disappointed this year, but the majority were relatively steady, mirroring the modest 6.9 percent growth in the All Ordinaries index.

Here is a list of more than 30 companies ordered from the best performing stock to those who weren't so lucky.

We also tabulated this information in an Excel spreadsheet, which you can download here.

Uniti Wireless

CEO: Michael Simmons

13 February 2019*: $0.22

21 June 2019: $1.75

Change: 695.45%

Adelaide-based telco Uniti Wireless saw its share price surge since it first went public in February 2019. 

A series of acquisitions impressed investors.

The company first acquired Sydney-based Fuzenet two days before going public. In March, Uniti revealed it offered to buy ASX-listed Spirit Telecom, but was eventually rebuffed.

Uniti instead bought Queensland NBN provider Pivit for $450,000 in April, followed by communications platform-as-a-service company and former CRN Fast50 lister Fone Dynamics in May.

*IPO date

5G Networks

CEO: Joseph Demase

21 June 2018: $0.53

21 June 2019: $1.59

Change: 300.00%

Broadband network operator 5G Networks launched a nationwide high-speed managed data network to further expand its fibre and wireless network by cutting out third-party services.

To support the launch, the company paid $5.7 million for colocation provider Melbourne Data Centre in April.

5G Networks also raised $8 million through a placement to boost its capital base as the company looks to finance the expansion of its network and  make further acquisitions.

Rhipe

CEO: Dominic O'Hanlon

21 June 2018: $1.08

21 June 2019: $2.75

Change: 154.63%

Distributor Rhipe last week updated its guidance for its FY2019 results, expecting an operating profit of between $11.5 million and $12 million.

Part of the upgrade is its increased margins from public cloud, with its Office 365 seat count up by more than 170,000 or 65 percent since the start of the financial year.

Earlier this year, Rhipe acquired Microsoft Dynamics 365 partner Dynamics Business IT Solutions for $8 million.

Vodafone (Hutchison Telecommunications Australia Ltd)

CEO: Iñaki Berroeta

21 June 2018: $0.05

21 June 2019: $0.12

Change: 140.00%

Vodafone's share price surges to 18 cents when it announced it was going to merge with fellow telco TPG Telecom in August 2018.

The stock has since cooled off as the merger was delayed for months (with a brief period returning to the 16 cent ot 18 cent range in April) until the ACCC eventually rejected the merger in May.

Vodafone and TPG have since taken the regulator to court over the decision.

Cirrus Networks

CEO: Matt Sullivan

21 June 2018: $0.02

21 June 2019: $0.044

Change: 120.00%

IT services provider Cirrus Networks returned to profitability in the first half of the 2019 financial year, with strong revenues coming from its managed services business.

The multiple CRN Fast50 finalist also won a number of multi-million dollar government contracts and secured places in several DTA procurement panels.

Cirrus also scored a number of contracts from private organisations, including Woodside Petroleum and Crown Casino.

TechnologyOne

CEO: Edward Chung

21 June 2018: $4.33

21 June 2019: $7.68

Change: 77.37%

SaaS platform provider TechnologyOne saw its stock price rise steadily to a high of $9.30 in May on the back of a strong 2018 calendar year.

The price has since settled to $7.83 after its 2019 first half results, despite posting record profit and revenue growth from arge-scale enterprise customers and local government councils.

Dicker Data

CEO: David Dicker

21 June 2018: $2.95

21 June 2019: $4.87

Change: 65.08%

Distributor Dicker Data saw its share price rise steadily from Feburary this year, after reporting 14 percent revenue growth and 15 percent profit growth in FY2018.

The price started going even higher in May upon the release of its Q1 2019 results, even after reaching record highs in April, when it posted 21 percent revenue growth and 46 percent revenue growth.

A peak came of $5.74 arrived in June 2019 when Dicker Data launched an in-house financing division, Dicker Data Financial Services. 

Over The Wire

CEO: Michael Omeros

21 June 2018: $3.39

21 June 2019: $4.85

Change: 43.07%

Telco Over The Wire saw its share price surge in August 2018 after posting strong 2018 financial results, posting 57 percent revenue growth and 54 percent profit growth.

The price saw another boost in October when the company shelled out $30 million to acquire South Australia-based Access Digital Networks and Queensland-based Comlinx.

Shares remained relatively steady up until last week, even after posting strong first half results.

Data#3

CEO: Laurence Baynham

21 June 2018: $1.59

21 June 2019: $2.21

Change: 38.99%

Data#3 reported a strong first-half result on the back of an increase in growth across its business units, reporting 17 percent revenue growth and 126 percent profit growth.

The MSP scored the most federal government wins in 2018 among resellers, winning $121 million in contracts.

This year, the company scored big in Western Australia after becoming the state government's exclusive provider of Microsoft software for three years.

Telstra

CEO: Andrew Penn

21 June 2018: $2.72

21 June 2019: $3.78

Change: 38.97%

Telstra has managed to keep its share price growing despite a tumultuous 12 months.

The telco revealed its contentious Telstra2022 strategy in June 2018, which included plans to cut 8000 staff and an overhaul of its business strategy.

Costs associated with the NBN continued hurting Telstra's bottom line, with revenue and profit down in the first half of FY 2019.

Vita Group

CEO: Maxine J. Horne

21 June 2018: $0.97

21 June 2019: $1.30

Change: 34.02%

Vita Group, Telstra's sole master license partner owns and operates more than 100 of its stores, posted a strong first half despite the telco's struggles.

The company reported 14 percent revenue growth and 25 percent profit growth after shifting its strategy on how it serves SMB customers.

Vita announced in 2018 that it would transition away from the Telstra Business Centre model in favour of the new Telstra Business Technology Centre model, which caters to small-to-medium business customers up to 100 seats.

Xero

CEO: Steve Vamos

21 June 2018: $47.44

21 June 2019: $61.99

Change: 30.67%

Cloud accounting software firm Xero posted a strong year on the back of the Australian government's single touch payroll legislation.

The company posted 36 percent revenue growth and gained 22 percent more customers across ANZ. Customer growth in the UK and the US were up 48 percent each, while markets lumped in as “rest of the world” saw 43 percent growth.

Vocus Communications

CEO: Kevin Russell

21 June 2018: $2.50

21 June 2019: $3.20

Change: 28.00%

Vocus posted marginal revenue growth in the first half with its Vocus Networks offsetting declining revenues from its retail business.

The telco's share price saw a boost in May when global infrastructure investment firm EQT Infrastructure offered to acquire Vocus for $3.26 billion. EQT evenutally backed out of talks in June.

Energy provider AGL also made a $3 billion buyout offer, but was also later dropped after a period of due diligence.

TPG Telecom

CEO: David Teoh

21 June 2018: $5.29

21 June 2019: $6.78

Change: 28.17%

TPG saw its share price reach $9.65 after it announced its intention to merge with Vodafone in August 2018.

The price later dropped in December 2018 when the ACCC raised concerns about the merger, citing competition issues. The watchdog ultimately rejected the proposal in May 2019, but TPG and Vodafone have appealed.

JB Hi-Fi

CEO: Richard Murray

21 June 2018: $22.90

21 June 2019: $25.95

Change: 13.32%

Retail giant JB Hi-Fi reported $3.8 billion in sales for the first half, with its enterprise services business JB Hi-Fi Solutions also posting double-digit growth.

JB Hi-Fi expects to open five new stores this financial year and two new Good Guys stores, while closing two stores in Australia and one in New Zealand.

MYOB

CEO: Tim Reed

9 May 2018: $3.14

9 May 2019: $3.40

Change: 8.28%

Accounting software vendor MYOB delisted from the ASX in May 2019 after it was bought out by US investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) for $2 billion.

The offer was first made in October 2018, after the company spent some US$26 billion to acquire tech companies over the past years.

The buyout was initially met with objections from activist investor Manikay Partners, until it eventually relented in April.

*ceased trading after KKR buyout 

Amaysim

CEO: Peter O’Connell

21 June 2018: $0.77

21 June 2019: $0.72

Change: -6.49%

Amaysim last year quit its fixed line business after 18 months of operation, selling off its customer base to regional telco specialist Southern Phone for $3 million.

The company cited high wholesale costs and increased competition for the exit, racking up network and wholesale costs of $5.5 million and another $2 million in operating expenses.

First half revenue was down 5.6 percen, leading to a loss of $4.8 million.

RXP Services

CEO: Ross Fielding

21 June 2018: $0.51

21 June 2019: $0.46

Change: -9.80%

Melbourne-based IT consulting firm RXP Services posted modest revenue growth as it transitions to digital work.

Digital transformation-related work saw the biggest increase with 36 percent, led by human-centred design, analytics and platforms work.

Spirit Telecom

CEO: Geoff Neate

21 June 2018: $0.25

21 June 2019: $0.22

Change: -12.00%

Melbourne-based Spirit Telecom saw its stock price dip sharply to $0.08 in early March after releasing its first half results, as they revealed stagnant revenue growth due to a delay to its network rollout.

The price surged back to $0.20 when Uniti Wireless revealed intentions to acquire Spirit, but the price dropped to $0.13 when the telco refused the proposal.

Spirit eventually made an acquisition of its own with Brisbane-based LinkOne Networks, shelling out $5.7 million for the deal.

Hills Limited

CEO: David Lenz

21 June 2018: $0.21

21 June 2019: $0.18

Change: -14.29%

Hills Limited reported a profit in the first half of 2019 despite a 2.9 percent decline in revenue due to hanges in its audio-visual vendor portfolio and the SMB sector of its security and surveillance business.

The company continued its restructuring with a plan to cut $5 million in costs as it looks to improve profitability.

Hills said it will reveal more details of a strategic review in its upcoming full year results.

DWS

CEO: Danny Wallis

21 June 2018: $1.33

21 June 2019: $1.14

Change: -14.29%

Melbourne-based IT outsourcing company DWS saw its share price dip to $0.88 months after releasing its first half results in February, despite posting revenue growth. The price has since bounced back above $1.00.

The company saw its first half revenue up 33 percent due to contract wins from federal government customers, but profits are down 34 percent.

Its acquisition of Canberra-based Projects Assured in 2018 also contributed to the growth, with wins from management and consulting engagements.

NextDC

CEO: Craig Scroggie

21 June 2018: $8.10

21 June 2019: $6.70

Change: -17.28%

NextDC finally concluded a bidding war to buy back the property trust that owns three of its data centres, agreeing to shell out $163 million for Asia Pacific Data Centre shares NextDC doesn't already own.

However the cost left NextDC with lower interest and distribution income, resulting in lower than expected second half results, but will also expect $15 million in annualised rent savings.

First half revenue was up 17 percent, but made a loss of $3.1 million, compared to an $8.4 million profit in the same period in 2018.

Tesserent

CEO: Julian Challingsworth

21 June 2018: $0.06

21 June 2019: $0.048

Change: -20.00%

Managed security specialist Tesserent saw its share price reach close to $0.10 following the announcement of its planned acquisition of Melbourne MSP Asta Solutions.

After months of delays however, the $3.8 million deal was put on hold in March 2019, eventually pivoting to purchase enterprise security specialist and Splunk partner Rivium in April of the same year.

Tesserent also won an initial $500,000 investment from UXC founder Geoff Lord in early 2019, joining the company's board in the process.

Kogan

CEO: Ruslan Kogan

21 June 2018: $7.35

21 June 2019: $5.13

Change: -30.20%

Online retailer Kogan saw a major drop in it share price in October last year after revealing revealing the cost of changes to Australia's GST laws. The price dropped from $4.64 to $3.08 within a span of a week.

The company said revenue from its "global brands" category had decreased by 27.4 percent at the time, which were offset by strong growth from other categories.

Last month, Kogan was notified of action by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for allegedly making false or misleading representations during a sales promotion in 2018.

Citadel Group

CEO: Darren Stanley

21 June 2018: $6.50

21 June 2019: $4.51

Change: -30.62%

Canberra-based Citadel Group saw its stock price plunge drop below $4.00 in May when it revealed it was under pressure from the spending slowdown from the federal government, causing it to revise its FY2019 guidance.

Prior to that, the price peaked at $9.30 in November on the back of its multiple contract wins and a strong FY2018. The first half of 2019 was also postitive, posting 5.5 percent revenue growth and 5.4 percent for the period.

 Citadel also acquired medical SaaS provider Anaesthetic Private Practice for $2 million in 2018 and Melbourne-based systems integrator Noventus for $5.7 million in May 2019.

Superloop

CEO: Drew Kelton

21 June 2018: $2.48

21 June 2019: $1.70

Change: -31.45%

Network provider Superloop received a buyout offer from government-owned Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) for just under $500 million. The deal eventually fell apart days later both parties failed to reach an agreement.

The company saw revenue growth in the first half of FY2019, thanks to contributions from its connectivity and broadband businesses.

Revenue growth was up 18 percent for the period, while losses widened to $8.7 million, due to impacts from lower equipment and software reselling.

CSG

CEO: Mark Bayliss 

21 June 2018: $0.25

21 June 2019: $0.17

Change: -32.00%

CSG earlier this year launched its CSG 2021” strategic transformation program in a bid to re-invigorate” the company’s culture and change they way it engages with its staff.

The program has since resulted in its exit from the enterprise market, the departure of chief executive Julie-Ann Kerin and $7.7 million in cost reductions from staff cuts.

Harris Technology

CEO: Garrison Huang

21 June 2018: $0.04

21 June 2019: $0.027

Change: -32.50%

Harris Technology sold its Anyware distribution business to Leader Computers in 2018 in a bid to cut losses, despite being the top contributor to company revenue.

The deal includes the majority of Anyware's inventory, worth about $4.5 million, along with its business name, customer and supplier databases.

Harris later acquired software and services company Lincd for $2.45 million and online drone accessories supplier Fstop Labs for $2 million in January and June 2019, respectively.

Arq Group

CEO: Martin Mercer

21 June 2018: $3.34

21 June 2019: $1.40

Change: -58.08%

Arq Group, formerly Melbourne IT, revealed its intentions to divest its SMB reseller and telco businesses to focus on  core operations. The company also posted a loss of $2.3 million and an eight percent revenue bump to $213 million.

The company also offloaded its wholesale domain business TPP Wholesale in May 2019, with UK-based domain registry CentralNic Group paying $24.4 million. The proceeds of the sale will be used to pay down debt and provide balance sheet flexibility.

Trimantium Growthops

CEO: Paul Mansfield

21 June 2018: $1.33

21 June 2019: $0.52

Change: -60.90%

Trimantium Growthops, which started out as a merger of eight digital, marketing and training and IT firms, saw its stock price drop in the past 12 years despite making several acquisitions.

The company acquired IT services firm Asia Pacific Digital for $20 million in June 2018, followed by poaching Accenture's entire Salesforce Einstein team in September that year.

In March 2019, Growthops acquired Brisbane-based ServiceNow partner Entrago, making it the company's tenth firm.

PS&C

CEO: Glenn Fielding

21 June 2018: $0.14

21 June 2019: $0.053

Change: -62.14%

IT services provider PS&C saw wider losses in the first half of FY2019 with $6 million, despite a 41 percent increase in revenue. Much of the growth came from its Defend + Secure business, which saw 43 percent revenue growth.

PS&C last year offloaded its Allcom Networks business to Sydney managed services provider Crosspoint Telecommunications for $3.2 million, saying it was not "cohesively aligned to PS&C’s core strategy".

The company also acquired Melbourne-based Salesforce implementation partner Artisan Consulting in February.

Commschoice

CEO: Peter McGrath

21 June 2018: $0.14

21 June 2019: $0.046

Change: -67.14%

In June 2019 cloud telephony company CommsChoice revealed plans to restructure its sales and customer service operations to favour its growing channel sales business. It expects to cut eight roles to recoup $2 million in annualised cost savings.

In April, the company saw the departure of chief executive Ben Gilbert, with non-executive director and former Nextgen Group chief executive Peter McGrath appointed as interim CEO in his place.