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Daisy sees growth in places but losses rise

Company leadership 'cautiously optimistic' about next half of financial year

Daisy Group has reported a slight fall in revenue to £173.9m for the six months ending 30 September, down from £178.1m in the year-ago period.

The company's losses have increased slightly in the half year, from £10.5m to £11.9m, and cash generation from operations is also down to just £16.8m, from £21.8m in the six months to 30 September 2012.

Net debts, however, held steady, according to unaudited figures released today.

Matthew Riley, chief executive of Daisy, put a positive spin on the results, pointing out there was growth in adjusted EBITDA, and basic adjusted earnings per share.

We are pleased to report the results for this interim period, in which we have seen growth in adjusted EBITDA, and in areas like managed services.

"Contract wins in the mid-market have strengthened our position and we have a good pipeline of opportunities going into the second half of the year," Riley (pictured) said.

The firm's datacentre business, bought in May 2013 from fallen player 2e2, had also performed ahead of expectations, he said.

"The change of ownership has been well received by the existing customers following an uncertain period caused by the demise of 2e2. From this foundation, we are building a strong pipeline of business," said Riley.

Since then, Daisy has also acquired consultancy Indecs, which with the Servassure and Net Crowd services provider businesses gave Daisy "credible scale in the partner services area".

"We expect good growth from this business in the coming years," said Riley.

As a result, Daisy leadership remains "cautiously optimistic" and expects ongoing progress and strong free cashflow generation for the rest of the financial year, he said.