Iomart trades in line, signals interim dividend

Cloud computing company Iomart Group issued its trading statement for the six months 30 September on Friday, ahead of the announcement of its half yearly results.

The AIM-traded firm said the business continued to perform “well” in the first half of the financial year, with trading in the period in line with management expectations.

It said the business remained “firmly on track” to deliver “another year” of material growth.

“The group has seen strong demand for its services as enterprises continue to move their services into the cloud,” Iomart’s board said in its statement.

“With our wide range of cloud products, services and consultancy offerings covering private, public and hybrid cloud solutions, iomart is ideally placed to advise these enterprises on the best solution to fit their needs and then to implement the chosen solution.”

In May the company acquired Dediserve, which the board said expanded the geographical reach of its cloud operation.

The business had performed well since acquisition, Iomart reported, in line with management expectations.

“At the end of our last financial year we revised our dividend policy due to our robust cash generation and low level of gearing,” the board explained.

“As a result, we increased our final dividend for that year by 90% to 6p per share.

“We now intend to introduce an interim dividend payment in this financial year and further details of this will be given with the publication of our half year results.”

Looking ahead, Iomart said the market opportunity remained “strong” and the board believed it was “well-positioned” to take advantage of it.

It said it was “confident” in the outlook for the full year and optimistic for continued success.

“The group has performed strongly in the period as we consolidate our competitive advantage within the hybrid cloud market,” said chief executive officer Angus MacSween.

“There is growing demand from enterprises moving their services into the cloud and our reputation as the UK's leading cloud computing company means we are ideally placed to service this demand.”