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(Alliance News) - Tribal Group PLC on Thursday reported a sharp rise in interim profit and said it was on track to meet its full-year expectations as it battled to negotiate a resolution to its contract with Nanyang Technological University.
Tribal reported a pretax profit of GBP5.9 million in the six months ended June 30, jumping 89% from GBP3.1 million the year prior.
The company benefitted as its costs of sales dropped 9.0% to USD20.7 million from GBP22.8 million. It also only booked GBP366,000 in exceptional items, compared to GBP1.3 million the year prior.
Revenue ticked up 2.3% to GBP43.4 million from GBP42.4 million.
"We continued to trade positively, transitioning our existing customers to the cloud while securing new customers in our key geographies. Education Services performed well during the first half, and we expect this trend to continue. Overall, the picture for Tribal remains positive, with an expanding customer base, advanced service offering and continued contract and [annual recurring revenue] momentum," said Chief Executive Mark Pickett.
Looking forward, Tribal said the resolution of its contract with Nanyang Technological University will continue to be a key area of focus during the second half of 2023.
Back in March, Tribal announced that Singapore's NTU decided to terminate its contract with the company and has reserved rights to claim damages. NTU demanded payment of USD9.9 million for damages on account of alleged loss, costs and expenses. Tribal rejected this demand and is currently engaged in private settlement negotiations with the university.
"The timing and nature of conclusion though negotiated resolution or final adjudication if necessary is presently uncertain. We will update the market as and when appropriate. Given the present uncertainty, no provision has been currently made for any potential litigation," Tribal said on Thursday.
Nonetheless, the company said it is confident in delivering full-year results for 2023 in line with current board expectations, though it did not specify what these were.
Bristol-based Tribal Group provides software and services to the international education market. Shares in the firm were untraded at 39.15 pence on Thursday morning in London.
By Heather Rydings, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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