C’est Magnifique! Straker lands long term contract with UN

Translation software company Straker has added the United Nations to its growing list of global enterprise customers.

Straker Translations (ASX:STG) has won a fabulous multi-year contract with the United Nations Office for Project Services, providing the biggest of all non-governmental organisations global technical translation and revision services.

The NZ-based business offers a unique solution for its customers by amalgamating AI, machine-learning and a crowd-sourced pool of freelance translators to provide faster and more accurate translations in a multitude of languages.

The company’s RAY Translation Platform is used by more than 10,000 clients including IBM.

The UN contract was won by Straker’s IDEST division based in Belgium, which has served clients like the UN and European Commission for more than two decades.

Straker acquired IDEST in January 2022 to consolidate and extend its presence in the multi-billion-dollar-European translation market, and to accelerate its penetration of strategic relationships with leading global institutions such as the European Commission, European Parliament, UNESCO, and the United Nations

Since acquisition, the Belgium-based IDEST acquisition has helped Straker optimise its services and land lucrative partnerships that have cemented the Kiwi tech company as a major player in machine learning translations.

In addition to strengthening Straker’s position in Europe, IDEST has put it in the box seat for key relationships with multilateral governance organisations, including securing this new long-term contract with the UN.

This is the third contract the IDEST division has won with the UN, and the first since 2018 showing Straker’s ability to grow existing businesses they have acquired through the use of their smart technology and global offering.

An outperformer

IDEST has outperformed revenue expectations which have no doubt significantly contributed to an almost 80% increase in revenue for FY22 to $55.9 million, well ahead of guidance of $50 million for the period.

With expected revenue growth of 20% in FY23, Straker believes this UN Agreement will significantly contribute to the IDEST division revenues going forward.

In a research note published after Straker’s recent FY22 financial results and entitled “Well placed in a wild market”, leading stock broker Ord Minnett rated Straker as a Buy, with a price target more than 40% higher than the current share price of $1.11.

Ords noted the result which was the result of “strong organic growth” and said it believed the company was well placed for strong growth. This UN deal further validates Starker’s lucrative M&A growth strategy to become a major player in the AI language space..

This article was developed in collaboration with Straker Translations, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.