Black Pearl Group (BPG) Q1 2027 TU earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $27.2m for Q1 FY27, up 95% year-over-year and 2% quarter-over-quarter, reflecting a shift to higher-quality, more profitable revenue streams.

• EBITDAF loss narrowed to $4.5m in Q1 FY27, with guidance for further improvement in Q2 ($2.5–3.0m loss) and Q3 ($1.0–1.5m loss).

• Strategic focus on cost savings, integration of B2B Rocket, AI-driven operational efficiencies, and innovation through the early beta launch of Platform as a Service (PaaS).

• Technology advantage highlighted by the Pearl Engine, which outperformed leading AI models by 26x on GTM-Bench.

• No takeover offers or acquisition approaches for the Pearl Engine or the group have been received.

Financial highlights

• ARR per employee reached $461,524 in Q1 FY27, up 75% year-over-year, indicating improved operational efficiency.

• SaaS revenue churn at 5.2% for Q1 FY27, stable year-over-year, with one DaaS customer churned in the quarter.

• CAC payback period increased to 6.27 months in Q1 FY27, up from 3.5 months in Q4 FY26, expected to normalize.

• DaaS now represents approximately 40% of revenue, up from 0%, reflecting rapid business evolution.

• Loss of a DaaS customer worth NZD 20,000 per month during the quarter.

Outlook and guidance

• EBITDAF losses expected to narrow to $2.5–3.0m in Q2 FY27 and $1.0–1.5m in Q3 FY27, driven by cost reductions and operational efficiencies.

• PaaS expected to become a significant revenue contributor over the coming year as consumption-based pricing grows.

• Quarterly EBITDA guidance provided for the first time, with no PaaS revenue assumed in forecasts.

• Additional reporting metrics to be introduced to better reflect evolving revenue composition.

• Main drivers of EBITDA improvement are cost reductions in Q1 and Q2, shifting to revenue growth in Q3.