Listed firm reports healthy results after executing recovery plan
Healthtech and software business EMIS Group has seen revenue growth and increased profitability during a half year when it successfully executed a recovery plan after failings were discovered on an NHS Digital contract.
The Leeds-headquartered listed firm this morning published its interim half-year results to 30 June, revealing it revenues for the period stood at £84.5m, up from £79.1m for the same period last year. It pre-tax profits rose to £13m from £10.4m.
Speaking with TheBuisnessDesk.com this morning, chief executive Andy Thorburn said the firm had been focused on executing the recovery from the legacy issue. The failed contract, which was announced in January and saw shares plummet 20% in a single day, wiped £120m from its value.
He said the business had worked hard to put in place everything needed to meet the service level agreement with NHS Digital again by July 1 and that this target was met. EMIS deployed 93 extra staff members to ensure everything was implemented.
Thorburn said he was “delighted” the July 1 target was achieved and praised the hard work of all staff in meeting the target, adding: “The big thing when you find a challenge like this is to get your team focused and then work out how to recover.”
It is expected that the failing on the NHS Digital contract will cost £11.2m to resolve and this will be paid by the end of the current financial year.
EMIS said: “The execution theme also applied to the recovery plan for NHS Digital (NHSD) following the discovery of service level reporting issues in January 2018 being a major focus. This has resulted in the deployment of 93 additional support and software development staff to resolve the legacy issues, in line with the investment we indicated in March 2018.
“As planned, we are pleased to report that we have met the key service level obligations under the GP Systems of Choice (GPSoC) contract from 1 July 2018 and expect to continue to do so. The Group continues to engage constructively with NHSD on the settlement. Our current expectation is that, when finalised, this will be within the provision that we have already made.”
Thorburn, who has been at EMIS since May last year, said the firm had also brought new products to market during the period, successfully delivered software upgrades and rolled out a new analytical platform for customers across several Clinical Care Commissioning Groups.
He said that the company was focusing on moving on from issues earlier this year and was expecting to be in line with board expectations for the full year. Thorburn added: “Overall, it’s a demanding marketplace but also an encouraging one. We are well positioned and well respected and we have an excellent team with a great track record.”
Thorburn added that there was still “lots to do” but he was pleased with the financial performance for the six month period and was moving into a phase of planning for the evolution of the business to help users and customers benefit from its services.
