Can Bird Dog Technology’s IPO fly?

One of the last in a lengthy list of companies to hit the ASX in what’s been a bonanza year for IPOs is video camera technology company Bird Dog Technology Ltd (ASX: BDT).

Bird Dog will join over 200 companies that have listed on the ASX since January this year.

The most successful to date include Kuniko (KNI) which since listing at $0.20 late August has soared 535% to $1.27. Then there’s Lithium Energy (LEL) which has seen its initial $0.20 IPO price jump 275% to $0.75.

It remains to be seen whether Bird Dog can emulate these lofty increases.

Insatiable demand for high-quality video content

Founded in 2016 by Dan Miall and Eamon Drew, Bird Dog has grown on the back of what the company believes has been insatiable demand for high-quality video content.

Bird Dog is a video camera technology with a range of high definition, 4K and PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras, as well as audiovisual products and editing software.

The company’s technology helps users transmit live video in broadcast quality using existing computer networks, and is understood to have the likes of Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and the Formula 1 on its client base.

Following the $14m Bird Dog raised in a pre-IPO round in June, the company is looking to raise around close to three times that when it lists on the ASX on Monday 20 December 2021.

Bird Dog derives revenue from its two core product categories: hardware and software.

The hardware product category contributed more than 99% of sales revenue in FY2021 and covers PTZ and fixed cameras, converters, chips & boards, controllers, and an extensive accessories range.

The company is understood to have recorded around $40m revenue in the FY 2021 and reported a profit (after tax) of $1.2m for FY2021, compared with a loss (after tax) of -$1.3m for FY2020.

Can Bird Dog emulate Atomos?

While there are few directly comparable rivals to Bird Dog, investors can take some comfort in the relative success of video technology company ASX-listed Atomos (AMS).

Following Atomos’s $6m IPO late 2018 - in which 14.6m shares were sold at 41 cents each – the company’s share price peaked at $1.76 early September 2021, before bouncing back down to around $1.00.

Bird Dog’s Prospectus offered subscription Shares in the company at $0.65 each to raise a total sum of $33m.

If Atomos - which shares trade at 4.74 times trailing revenue – is any proxy, Bird Dog could, based on comparable valuations, be worth $160m-plus.