K3 on the hunt for more deals

K3 Business Technology, the Salford Quays-based business software firm, is continuing to look for more acquisitions.

In a trading update for the year to June 30 the company – which bought five businesses during the period – said its strategy of seeking complementary acquisitions to help accelerate organic growth remained in place.

On Monday it said it had agreed a £1.5m deal for Azurri Retail which offers IT services to the retail industry.

K3 said it was trading in line with expectations and had seen a “significant increase” in sales and operating profits.

This was largely down to the acquisitions it made during the year but also reflected around £20m of recurring income from software licence and support renewals.
 
AIM-listed K3 supplies and supports Microsoft-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) software – a system that manages everything from stock to till sales. It also has hosting and managed services arms.

“Despite the tough market conditions, K3 continues to sign an encouraging level of major new contracts overall,” said the company.

“Sales to existing customers are on an upward trend and are encouraging. As a result of the acquisitions made over the last 12 months and the trend towards spreading payments across the life of the contract, the group’s net debt position at June 30 is expected to stand at approximately £15.8m (2010: £10.98m).”