SDL profit rises as language services offset weakness in other areas

SDL posted a doubling of pre-tax profit in the first half on the back of rising revenue and a strong performance from the group’s Language Services division, as it said guidance for the year remains unchanged.

Pre-tax profit came in at £6m from £3.1m, on revenue of £133.9m, up 4% from £129.1m in the first half of last year.

Chairman David Clayton said: “The first six months of 2015 has seen the group achieve results in line with our expectations in terms of revenue and ahead of expectations in terms of profitability. As is normal for a business such as ours, some parts of our business have performed better than we expected whilst other parts have disappointed.”

The Language Services business benefited from improving market demand, but the company’s Customer Experience Management (CXM) related products did not perform to its expectations.

Languages Services revenue grew 4% in the period, while Technology revenue was up 3%. The company said that new bookings in the Technology segment have been disappointing and it has made some proactive changes there.

“The underpinning of the group's profitability by our Language offerings has allowed us the opportunity to be patient regarding timing of delivery by our CXM products. The executive team continues to work tirelessly to ensure that the group takes full advantage of the substantial opportunities our marketplace is offering us,” said Clayton.

At 1011 BST, the company's shares were down 3.9% at 385p.