Phoenix Software results pay dividends

York-based software VAR dishes out £4.2m to shareholders as it posts rise in top and bottom line

Software licensing VAR Phoenix Software has closed the books on another solid year after a services push helped it grow both sales and profits.

The York-based Microsoft partner registered a six per cent jump in after-tax profit of £4.2m as revenue clambered nine per cent to £87.2m for its fiscal year ending 31 October 2013.

This enabled it to dish out a dividend for the year of £4.2m, up from £3.5m in 2012.

Phoenix Software said 2013 saw it maintain market share in its traditional software resale activity as it invested heavily in new technologies, associated services and software asset management (SAM) capabilities.

"The growth in headcount during 2013 gives the company a strong starting point for entry into its new fiscal year," Phoenix Software director Suzanne Marshall-Forsyth said in the VAR's annual report, referring to the fact that average annual monthly headcount rose from 123 to 133.

During the year, Phoenix Software pumped £476,000 into research and development to develop its own product offering, the VAR said, compared with £514,000 a year earlier. Wages and salaries rose fractionally to £6.04m.

The firm drew three per cent of sales from outside the UK, although sales from the Americas nearly halved to £1.06m.

Phoenix Software said it sees further opportunities for growth this year around consulting and SAM consultancy.