LONDON (Alliance News) - EU Supply PLC saw its share price drop in morning trading Thursday after the firm reported a widened pretax loss after making "significant investment" in its software and operations.
EU Supply said its pretax loss for the year to December 31, 2013 widened to GBP3.5 million from a GBP1.0 million loss in 2012 after the firm made significant investment in its software and operations through increasing staff and administrative costs after its initial public offering last year.
Revenue for the year rose 10.7% to GBP1.8 million from GBP1.6 million last year.
The company did not recommend a dividend for the period.
Following its IPO in November - which facilitated the removal of all debt through repayment conversion to equity - the additional working capital raised has enabled the company to accelerate the expansion of its sales force and fund current operations, it said.
EU Supply raised GBP5 million in its IPO last year. The firm is remaining focused on technology and staff investment in order to take advantage of the growing European market for e-procurement, it said. "As EU Member States seek means to reduce costs and seek better control and transparency of procurement processes, the market opportunity thus provided gives us confidence as we look forward to life as a public company," said Chairman David Cutler.
Looking ahead the company said it anticipates that strong recurring revenue growth for 2014 will provide the foundation for sustained revenue growth and profitability in the future.
Shares in EU Supply were trading 17.67% lower at 30.05 pence per share Thursday morning, the biggest faller on the AIM market.
By Alice Attwood; aliceattwood@alliancenews.com; @AliceAtAlliance
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