Higher costs dent profits at ANS

PROFITS at Manchester Science Park technology firm ANS Group dropped by a third to £1m despite sales increasing by 10% to £13.3m.

The company’s chairman, Scott Fletcher, argued that the lower profit figure was due to a £500,000 investment made by the firm during the course of the year – largely in increased staff numbers, which he said were “necessary to facilitate  growth over the coming years” and to meet a self-imposed turnover target of £30m. 

Fletcher argued that its investment had already begun to bear fruit – particularly as the company was awarded Buying Solutions Framework Agreement status during the year, which will make it easier for it to bid for public sector work.

He also argued that the firm had managed to increase its gross profits during the period by 16% and  increase its cash balance to a record high of £4.3m (2009: £3.3m) at its year end .

He said that a “strong focus” on its managed services division contributed almost half of its gross profits and led to higher levels of recurring revenues.

Fletcher said the investment it had made meant that current trading is “well in advance of last year”.

“The order book is also considerably larger than that in 2009 and that provides us with the confidence that our cost and efficiency saving portfolio of solutions  are positioned perfectly for our customers needs.”

He added that although orders were taking longer to complete as customers scrutinise spending more, this had not led to any major loss in its business.

“In fact, orders that had been ongoing for a number of months have now closed in quarter one with some exciting wins that have given us the confidence to look forward positively at the coming year.”

ANS Group also declared an £82,000 profit on its purchase and quick sale of London-based hybrid mail business Viapost. The firm said that it would pay a second interim dividend of 2.75p a share, bringing the total payout during the year to 4p per share.