Arcontech rallies as it swings to annual profit

Arcontech rallied after saying it swung to a pre-tax profit in the year ended 30 June on the back of cost savings and new business from existing customers.

The company, which provides products and services for real-time financial market data processing and trade, posted pre-tax profit of £243,660 compared with a loss of £35,565 in the same period last year.

Revenues increased 8% to £2.13m and the cash balance stood at £1.07m from £733, 676 in the first half of 2014 as the company expanded its customer base and grew revenues from existing clients.

However, Arcontech did not declare a dividend due to its negative distributable reserves. The company said it intends to seek court approval to re-designate its reserves and thereby enable it to pay dividends.

Chairman Richard Last said: “Arcontech has a healthy pipeline of qualified prospects and although the lead time to a sale continues to be unpredictable, once a sale is completed we invariably have a long and positive relationship supported by annual recurring licence fees.

"Despite the challenges presented in the year under review, with a broadening product range and customer base, we are both positive and confident as to Arcontech's prospects."

At 0916 BST, Arcontech shares were up 4.8% at 0.2095p.