City briefs: ECSC; EMIS; and more
Cyber security services provider ECSC says its Group revenue is up 15% to £3.01m (H1 2020: £2.61m) in its trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2021.
The Bradford-based company’s Managed Detection and Response (MDR) revenue is up 17% to £1.45m (H1 2020: £1.24m) while its Assurance revenue has risen 20% to £1.49m (H1 2020: £1.24m).
The firm had cash of £591,000 at period end – including £142,000 of Covid-19 related Government support (30 June 2020: £1.26m – including £0.77m of Covid-19 support). The Group’s bank facility of £0.5m remains unutilised.
Final results for the period will be announced on Wednesday 22 September 2021.
ECSC has also confirmed that after overcoming a recent health condition, Ian Castle has decided to step down from the Board with immediate effect. He will continue his role as chief technology Officer on a part-time basis.
Ian Mann, chief executive officer, said: “We are pleased to report that ECSC’s momentum has continued into the first half of this year, with strong growth across both our MDR and Assurance divisions, owing in part to our focus on converting increasing numbers of Assurance clients and those with incident response retainers to long-term MDR clients.
“Following the relatively short-term impact of Covid-19 in 2020, the teams have adapted well to new ways of working within both our sales and delivery functions, and the Group is well positioned to maximise opportunities in a recovering economy.
“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Ian Castle for his commitment and look forward to his continuing contribution to the company.”
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EMIS Group, which provides connected healthcare software and systems, has reported a return to business as usual despite the pandemic.
Issuing a trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2021, the Leeds-headquartered business adds that both revenue and adjusted operating profit are ahead of the comparative period last year and in 2019.
In the EMIS Health division, the Group is delivering against the requirements of the GP IT Futures contract while continuing to invest in its technology roadmap.
In EMIS Enterprise, the Group says it continues to execute in the areas of patient-facing services, analytics and pharmacy, most notably supporting the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme through its Pinnacle software.
The division has seen double digit growth in both recurring and non-recurring revenues in the first half.
EMIS retains a strong balance sheet position with net cash at 30 June 2021 of £48m (30 June 2020: £44.1m), with a first half working capital outflow including the settlement of a £7.3m VAT payment deferred a year previously.
The Group intends to announce its results for the half year ended 30 June 2021 on Thursday 9 September 2021.
Andy Thorburn, CEO, said: “I am pleased that we have performed slightly ahead of expectations in the first half.
“Healthcare continues to be at the centre of the global agenda and, as the UK recovers from the pandemic, we are well positioned to meet the evolving requirements of the sector, both today and in the future. We remain confident in the outlook.”
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Kitchens supplier Howden Joinery Group has achieved a strong first half performance, ahead of expectations, with Group revenue of almost £785m (2020: £465.0m; 2019: £652.6m).
Howden Joinery UK depot revenue increased to approximately £764m which, compared to the first half of 2019, was an increase of 19.8% and by 15.3% on a same depot basis.
A spokesman for the business added: “Since the period end, this pattern of trade has continued and we remain cautiously optimistic in our outlook for the second half and our all-important peak trading period.
“Whilst we are aware of the economic uncertainties that we face and the tough comparators from the second half of 2020, we remain confident in our business model for the future. Accordingly, we are currently expecting pre-tax profits of around £300m for 2021 as a whole.”
Howdens will publish its 2021 half year results on Thursday 22 July 2021.
