Strong first half for Servelec

SERVELEC Group said this morning it is positive of its continued success in its first full year as a publically listed company as it announced strong first half results.

The South Yorkshire-based company, which made its debut on the main market of the London Stock Exchange late last year, is a technology group, providing software, hardware and services predominantly to the UK healthcare, oil and gas, nuclear, power, utilities and broadcast sectors.

For the half year to June 30, the group reported revenue of £25m, up from £19.3m in the prior year period, while pre-tax profit from continuing operations remained steady at £4.4m.

There was a 12% growth in underlying operating profit to £5m and the company announced it will pay a maiden interim dividend of 1.5p per share.

Alan Stubbs, chief executive, said: “We are pleased with the progress made in the first half of 2014, which is in-line with our plans at the time of the IPO.

“The acquisition and successful integration of Semaphore has boosted the performance of our Automation division and its global distribution network has given us access to several new, attractive markets. The Healthcare division is performing particularly well both with the London Refresh and with more wins in the open market, reflecting our software product leadership and effective routes to market. Cash conversion has been significantly ahead of plan and puts the group in a very strong financial position.”