Daisy set to blossom, says Riley

B2B telecoms company Daisy Group declared a pre-tax loss of £5.1m in the six months to September 30, despite a 47% increase in sales to £176m.

The company has also recorded a major increase in its net debt – up to £79.7m, from £3.8m a year ago as it has embarked on an acquisition spree to underpin its plan of consolidating the B2B telecoms market.

However, chief executive Matthew Riley expressed his confidence in the company’s performance and its prospects.

The Nelson-based firm, which acquired the business and certain assets of Telinet and Epitomi for £15.1m in April and the Vodafone mobile business from Bury-based Outsourcery for £12m in March, increased its adjusted earnings to £26.6m, compared with £16.1m last year.

It also said that cash generated from its operations increased by £2.9m to £13.1m.

Riley said Daisy had witnessed “a healthy increase in market share, plus revenue and profit growth across all divisions…in spite of the difficult macro-economic environment.”

He added: “The business has continued to demonstrate strong cash generation and with all acquisitions integrated, significant synergies have been achieved.

“With an improvement in its revenue mix, the Group has continued to decrease reliance on traditional fixed lines and calls, with an increased proportion of revenues from its mobile, systems and data product sets.”

A breakdown of its revenues shows that 42% of its revenues now come from fixed line calls, compared with 48% last year. Mobile now represents 29% of revenues, data 19% and systems 10%.

The company also said that it remained confident of hitting its full-year targets.

Riley said: “The business is focused on driving further organic growth and continues to consider strategic acquisitions that provide clear value for shareholders. Notwithstanding the current economic climate, we are confident for the second half of the year.”