Business

Software sales pushes First Derivatives revenue over £50m

First Derivatives is headquartered at Canal Quay, Newry
First Derivatives is headquartered at Canal Quay, Newry First Derivatives is headquartered at Canal Quay, Newry

NEWRY software firm First Derivatives saw revenue grow to more than £50 million over six months - up 44 per cent on the same period in 2014.

In its half-year update to the London Stock Exchange, the company which provides software and consulting services to blue-chip clients across the world said sales hit £53.8m in the six months to August 31.

It made profits before tax - after adjustments had been made - £7.6m, up 68.9 per cent on the previous first half.

Software revenue mushroomed by 87 per cent driven mainly by new clients in the financial services sector while consulting services sales grew 28 per cent.

The results were buoyed by the acquisitions of Affinity Systems and ActivateClients for a combined initial consideration of £7.1m.

First Derivatives (FD) chairman Seamus Keating said it was "another period of strong progress".

"Our consulting division delivered revenue growth of 28 per cent and during the period a number of initiatives laid the foundations for FD to continue our remarkable track record of more than 20 per cent per annum growth in consulting revenue," he said.

"Although we remain at an early stage of full commercialisation of our software products we are pleased to report an impressive 87 per cent growth in software revenue as we continued to penetrate our key target markets in the period."

And Mr Keating forecast an impressive set of full year results.

"The positive performance in the first half of our financial year has continued into the second half and the high visibility within both consulting and software gives the board confidence that the group expects to meet market expectations for the full year," he said.

"We will continue to invest to position ourselves to benefit from our software's technology lead, to build upon this and look to convert our pipeline of opportunities within capital markets and other sectors. We continue to believe the work and investments we have made, along with our market positioning in both consulting and software, provide a strong platform to meet our exciting growth ambitions."

Earlier this year, First Derivatives also said it was spending $20m (£13m) on acquiring Massachusetts-based internet analytics firm Prelytix.

The group, which now has more than 1,000 employees, also announced the formation of of FD Labs, its new R&D division based in Ottawa, Canada in September.

In addition to offices in Newry, Belfast, Dublin and London, First Derivatives operates in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai.