Eg Solutions spending heavily on new products
Stafford-based back office software company eg solutions has slipped to a loss over the first six months of the year as it spends heavily on developing new products. The half-time loss of £330,000 compares to a £620,000 profit 12 months ago.
Company's order book of multi-year contracts over the next three to four years, has increased by £2.5 million from a year ago to £15.5m. Its software is designed to help companies manage their call centres, back offices and branches more efficiently.
Its customers include companies at home and abroad in financial services, utilities and healthcare.
Following a share placing in January, which raised £3.2m, the company says it has "invested significantly in accelerating product development". Investment in R&D is up 70% on the same time last year, and two major new products – eg forecasting and eg mobile – are being launched at The Shard tower in London tonight.
Sales in the six months to the end of July were down to £3.6m from £3.99m a year ago, but the company said this would have represented a rise of 16% on the £3.1m underlying revenues (excluding one-off deals) for the equivalent period in 2014.
Eg also said it had a 'strong balance sheet' with cash of £3.1m.
Chairman Duncan McIntyre said: "The business has developed in line with our strategy of driving growth and further enhancing our market position in the expanding back office optimisation market. We have invested in both sales and marketing as well as developing two flagship products. These products will extend our market leading position and the board is excited about the opportunities they present.
"We have strong visibility and a building order book and look forward with confidence to the rest of 2015 with full year expectations now ahead of previous guidance."
The company says it expects its full year pre-tax profit position to be better than previously predicted and it now expects to break even. However, there will be no half-year dividend payout for shareholders.
It follows the best year in the company's history after piling on the sales in 2014. EG Solutions, of Dunston Business Village near Penkridge, has returned profit and increased its staff numbers by nearly half.
That success came after a tough 2013 that ended with the departure of the company's then chairman, founder Elizabeth Gooch took over the reins again as chief executive and chairman.
Now backed up by new chairman Duncan McIntyre, she has led the business to a 69% hike in revenue to £7.54 million and a pre-tax profit of £410,000 after a £1.48m loss the year before.
