SysGroup on course to meet full year expectations

SysGroup, the managed IT services and cloud hosting specialist, saw revenues rise, but profit turn to loss, for the six months to September 30.

Sales jumped from £3.928m to £5.786m, but last year’s pre-tax profit of £78,000 turned into a £348,000 loss this year.

Expenses incurred during the period include the addition of the Rockford IT business to the group and the increased investment in sales and marketing and group support functions.

There were also exceptional items of £200,000 relating to the integration and restructuring of acquired businesses.

The national operator, based in Liverpool, said gross cash, at the end of its reporting period, of £1.15m, compared with £2.69m, previously, and it had a net debt of £840,000, compared with net cash of £2.14m.

However, SysGroup, which operates in the financial services, education, charity, and not-for-profit sectors, said it had achieved much during the half year.

The restructuring of its board was completed with Martin Audcent appointed as chief financial officer and the retirement of Robert Khalastchy as non-executive director

Its second Hyper-Scale Cloud Platform in its London datacentre is now servicing customers, and it implemented a long-term incentive plan for executive management to deliver long-term value creation for shareholders and ensure alignment with shareholder interests.

The group also enhanced staff benefits to attract and retain the best talent in the business.

Meanwhile, the refurbishment of its Exchange Flags office in Liverpool was completed and work at the London office commenced.

In the post-period end, the firm won Security Vendor of the Year at the Computing Security Excellence Awards.

Chief executive Adam Binks said: “During the period we have focused on execution and I am pleased to report that the group has made steady progress in the first half of the year during my first period as CEO.

“The increasing proportion of recurring revenue demonstrates the ongoing success of our strategy and position as a consultative-led provider of managed IT services and cloud hosting.

“We have continued to invest in our business, our people, our brand and in systems and as a result have a more sales-focused workforce all working towards the same common goals.

“We are beginning to see the results of this investment through a strengthened pipeline.”

“With the support of a team of almost 100 committed colleagues, each playing to their individual strengths, the growth opportunity for SysGroup is significant and continues to accelerate.”

He added: “Trading in the second half of the year has begun well, and as a result the board remains confident in delivering full year performance in line with current market expectations.”