First Derivatives posts 27% profit jump

First Derivatives, a leading provider of software and support services to the financial services and technology industries, reported a 27% rise in full-year pre-tax profits. Pre-tax profits increased to £5.645m in the year ended 28 February compared to £4.461m in 2009 on revenues up by 45% to £25.476m. The group said trading remains robust in all divisions.The group recommend a final dividend of 2.75p per share which together with the second interim dividend of 4.0p per amounts to 6.75p per share (2009: 6.65p per share). Chairman David Anderson said: "The substantial investment into First Derivatives coupled with acquisitions made during the year have increased our global coverage and extended our range of Delta software products.""We are continuing to make a substantial investment in the development of the group to ensure it is positioned for both short and long term benefits to shareholders. We have made a strong start to the current year and expect to be able to report further progress in the year to 28 February 2011."First Derivatives also announced that it has signed contracts worth over $1m per annum for its Delta Algo and Delta Stream products across three financial institutions in the UK and North America.