LONDON (Alliance News) - Digital customer communication firm IMIMobile PLC said Tuesday its interim profit fell despite revenue rising following costs associated with acquisitions.
For the six months ended September, pretax profit narrowed 33% to GBP1.2 million from GBP1.7 million the year prior. This was despite revenue rising 27% to GBP67.2 million from GBP53.1 million the year before, up 15% on an organic basis.
Profit performance was hurt by costs associated with acquisitions. Contingent consideration associated with put options related acquisitions served as a GBP2.3 million drag, up from GBP574,000 the year prior. Similarly, acquisition costs rose to GBP652,000 from GBP39,000 the year before.
In July, IMIMobile bought mobile operator software provider Impact Mobile Inc for CAD27.5 million or GBP15.8 million.
"The group has continued to perform well, both on a financial and operational basis," IMIMobile Chief Executive Officer Jay Patel said. "We have a strong position as market leader in the UK, Canadian and South African markets and have seen numerous, multi-year new contract wins in the UK across our core sectors."
IMIMobile does not pay an interim dividend.
"We are pleased that we have seen 18% organic growth in gross profit from monthly recurring revenues, excluding the known headwinds created by MTN," Patel added. "I am also pleased with the improved operating leverage from past investments made in partnerships and R&D [research & development]."
Johannesburg-listed MTN Group Ltd - which is IMIMobile's largest client in the Middle East & Africa region - introduced new group policies which resulted in volume declines during the period.
"The technology and consumer landscapes are evolving as anticipated and given our leading positions in certain markets and sectors, we expect to continue to benefit from these changes in the near-medium term," Patel continued. "We have had a strong start to the second half and remain confident about the group's prospects for the full year. We expect full year results to be in line with management expectations."
Shares in IMIMobile were 0.3% lower at 292.25 pence on Tuesday.
