Qoria (ASX:QOR) executives highlighted a record December quarter for sales and said the company met all guidance metrics for the first half of FY26, while reiterating confidence in results for the remainder of the year. Management described the December quarter as a period that is typically less sales-heavy—particularly in the northern hemisphere—but said execution and strong demand still translated into the “best sales December quarter we’ve ever had.”
Key milestones and operating metrics
Chief Executive Officer Tim described the quarter as one that produced several major milestones, despite foreign exchange headwinds from movements in the Australian dollar, U.S. dollar, and euro. He said the company surpassed AUD 100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and reported AUD 149 million ARR at the end of the calendar year. On a constant currency basis, he said ARR would have been AUD 154 million and growth would have been higher than the reported 20% growth rate.
- More than 32,000 schools on the platform (unchanged).
- More than 30 million children protected.
- About 9 million parents using Qoria’s tools.
- Operations across more than 100 countries.
In the U.S., Tim said Qoria has passed 20% student penetration, emphasizing that the student base is “essentially all… organic” since entering the market in 2018.
ARR growth drivers and product momentum
Management reported AUD 5.1 million of net ARR added during the quarter, with over AUD 4 million of that coming from the education business and over AUD 2 million from Qustodio. Tim characterized Qustodio as a fast-growing segment, saying it is now growing at an annualized rate greater than 34% and that all indicators in the business are “going the right way.”
The company also highlighted improving cross-sell performance. Tim said Qoria delivered AUD 1.5 million of cross-sales and that cross-sell now accounts for more than 30% of new ARR over the half, up from “just over 23%” last year.
In education, Tim said new customer wins remain “the engine room,” while average revenue per user continues to increase. He also described results in the U.K. as stronger than expected for the quarter, though he noted the U.K. has been constrained by limited access to the full product suite—an issue the company says it is now addressing through new integrations.
Pipeline outlook and seasonal dynamics
Management repeatedly underscored the strength of the North America K-12 pipeline heading into the second half. Tim said the pipeline is “on fire,” totaling nearly $40 million in deals and about $14 million on a weighted basis, which he said was about 30% higher than the record pipeline of the prior year. He added that a large portion of the team was in the U.K. ahead of the Bett Conference in late January.
While executives expressed confidence about the underlying growth trajectory being “well north of 20%,” Tim noted the company’s risk profile is influenced by the timing of North American deal closures, with “so much” of sales typically completed in the final two weeks of June.
On Qustodio seasonality and marketing spend, management cautioned against reading too much into the quarterly split, pointing to timing around the September quarter close. Tim said marketing investment should be considered across the half rather than isolated to the December quarter, and added that the plan for Qustodio was to “grow within” its billing base.
Tim also provided an update on Qustodio’s school-to-home motion, saying the company now has around 200,000 accounts connected through U.S. schools to U.S. homes. He said schools following the marketing plan typically see about 20% take-up, while about 1% are upgrading to a paid product. He said Qoria has not yet actively marketed upgrades to that group, but plans to begin communications to those parents and test new pricing approaches, including monthly plans alongside annual plans.
Cash flow, balance sheet, and cost trajectory
Chief Financial Officer Ben Jenkins said free cash flow in the December quarter was just over negative AUD 2 million, but that the first half totaled “just under AUD 9 million positive.” He said first-half cash collections increased about 20.2%, aligning with the company’s guidance.
Jenkins also called out one-off corporate costs tied to acquisition diligence. He said the company assessed three different acquisition opportunities in detail during the half, but “walked away from all three… or been outbid,” describing those costs as “genuinely one-off in nature.”
Looking forward, Jenkins said most planned investments are “done now,” and he expects costs to be broadly flat across the second half, with some categories potentially down due to seasonality. On cash receipts, he said the company is “pretty confident” receipts will be comfortably over 20% year-over-year in the second half, noting that last year’s half-on-half split was skewed by multi-year cash upfront dynamics that have since run off. He said FY24’s 57%/43% split (first half/second half) may be a more relevant reference point than last year’s 60%/40% split.
Jenkins said the company had AUD 21 million cash on hand and expressed confidence the business has sufficient liquidity to operate through to late June, when collections improve again into the July/September period. He said full-year free cash flow should remain broadly in line with prior guidance, with the expectation that first-half cash generation will be partially consumed in the second half, leaving the year-end cash balance similar to the start of the year, “probably slightly lower.”
AI investments, cost savings, and the company’s moat
Tim spent part of the call addressing the impact of AI on SaaS businesses and outlined how Qoria is using AI both to enhance products and to drive internal efficiency. He said the company’s AI-enabled capabilities already generate “literally millions of dollars of revenue,” citing real-time content scanning that can assess images, videos, and text on webpages and blur or restrict inappropriate content. He also referenced ongoing work on classification, automation, chatbots, and “AI agents” to improve user experience.
On cost impacts, Tim said Qoria has reduced support costs by about AUD 2 million and cut human moderation workload by about 30%, with “millions more dollars of savings” expected by the end of the calendar year. He also said the company has “saved 15” engineering roles through the use of AI tools, and that roughly 88%–90% of teams are using generative AI in daily work.
When asked about timing, Jenkins said cost savings would “really be an FY27 story,” with FY26 costs “fairly set” and an expectation that costs can remain flat into FY27 by offsetting wage increases with internal savings.
Addressing competitive concerns, Tim argued Qoria operates in a high-trust, regulated environment where customers are purchasing risk mitigation, compliance, accountability, and professional services—not just software. He said the company’s advantages include proprietary and regulatory-sensitive data, visibility across both school and home contexts, and broader integration across school systems following the Octopus acquisition.
About Qoria (ASX:QOR)
Qoria Limited markets, distributes, and sells cyber safety products and services. It offers Family Zone platform that delivers cyber safety settings, advice, and support to parents and schools across various networks and devices to keep children safe at home and school, as well as permits telecommunication service providers and device manufacturers to embed cyber safety practices into their offerings. The company also provides classroom management solutions. It offers hot spotting, VPN, and mobile solutions for families and schools, IT companies, educators, residential managers, and pastoral care organizations.
