LONDON (Alliance News) - Escher Group Holdings PLC Tuesday expressed confidence for its prospects going into the second half of 2016, as it reported a rise in profit for its first half.
For the half year to the end of June the company reported a pretax profit of USD1.8 million, up from USD1.3 million the year before, as revenue rose to USD12.3 million from USD11.9 million.
The company, which makes software for the postal, retail and financial industries, attributed its revenue growth to an increase in recurring support and maintenance revenues, as it saw strong levels of contract renewals. Contracts with two major customers in North America and Malaysia transitioned to maintenance and support, and Escher said these were key developments in its shift towards more predictable revenue streams.
Although it expects its emphasis on recurring revenue will "likely be reflect in moderated growth expectations", they will come with "much greater predictability", Escher said.
Escher said it had traded in line with expectations throughout the first half, and will focus on securing additional licence sales in the second half to meet its expectations for 2016 as a whole.
"Our core postal business has continued to perform strongly, driven by increased recurring maintenance and support revenues as a result of last year's deployment of our software solutions in Malaysia and North America," said Chief Executive Liam Church in a statement.
"Given the quality of our pipeline and contracted revenue, we remain confident about the prospects for H2 2016," Church added.
Shares in Escher Group were untraded Tuesday morning. They last closed at 195.00 pence.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews
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