LONDON (Alliance News) - Dillistone Group PLC Monday reported a lower pretax profit for 2014 due to acquisition costs, but revenue rose, particularly recurring revenue, and the company said it would continue to invest in product development this year as revenue in the first quarter of 2015 also rose.
The recruitment software supplier reported a pretax profit of GBP1.3 million for 2014, down from GBP1.5 million in 2013, as acquisition costs almost doubled to GBP418,000 after it bought ISV Software last October.
Excluding acquisition costs, its operating profit rose 1% to GBP1.8 million, while adjusted earnings per share were up 7% to 8.56p. It said it will pay a final dividend of 2.7p a share, bringing the total for the year to 4.0p, up from 3.85p in 2013, a third consecutive annual increase that it said reflects its confidence in its future.
Revenue rose 6% to GBP8.6 million, with recurring revenue up 12% to GBP5.9 million.
"The group has enjoyed another successful year in 2014, delivering its best ever performance in terms of revenue, adjusted operating profit and adjusted EPS. The business continued to invest, delivering a major new product launch in the Dillistone Systems division, while successfully completing the integration of FCP Internet into the Voyager Software division, and in September 2014 announcing the acquisition of ISV Software," Chairman Mike Love said in a statement.
Dillistone said orders in its systems business rose on the year in the first quarter of 2015 after it launched its FileFinder Anywhere platform last September. It said the product was driving larger-than-average contract wins and it's in talks with a number of other potential clients about large contracts.
"These larger contracts do however take longer to implement and the full impact may not be seen in 2015. Nonetheless, the relative scale and increasing frequency of these opportunities validates the board's strategy of investing in new product development and in the prospects for this iteration of FileFinder," it said.
Revenue has also risen in the first quarter in the company's Voyager Software unit. The division has invested significantly in product development over the past two years and it expects to announce a number of further product updates and launches in the coming months which are expected to have a positive impact on the business in the medium- to longer-term.
Dillistone shares were down 1.5% at 105.40 pence early Monday, having risen strongly in the run-up to the earnings report. The stock is up 9.8% so far in 2015.
By Steve McGrath; stevemcgrath@alliancenews.com; @stevemcgrath1
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