Phoenix claims recovery from Cisco axe as order book grows

Services player bouncing back from loss of big partnership, but debt spikes in 2013's closing quarter

Phoenix IT Group claims to have bounced back from being booted off Cisco's partner programme, with contract and order book value rising over the last three months of 2013.

According to an interim management statement (IMS) released to the stock market, the IT services firm's total contract value (TCV) at the start of this year stood at £189.4m. This represents a marginal increase on the £188.9 TCV as of the end of September 2013.

The worth of Phoenix's order book stood at £323.8m as last year drew to a close, compared with £310.8m as of the end of the preceding quarter. The IT services heavyweight believes the growth represents an even bigger achievement in light of its being stripped of Cisco partner status during Q4, which it claims put a dent in both TCV and order-book value.

"New business order intake was particularly strong in both the Partner Services and Business Continuity divisions in December, with the Business Continuity division also having a good quarter for contract renewals," explains the statement.

One black spot in the latest IMS is a rise in net debt levels which, including finance leases, were £78.6m going into the new year. This represents an increase of £4m from the September 2013 figure of £74.6m.

Following its dismissal from the Cisco partner scheme, the London-listed firm was understood to be in discussions with a number of potential acquirers of its customer base with the vendor.

CAE Technology Services was reportedly the first rival to snap up a chunk of Phoenix's Cisco business, and last week sources indicated Misco is close to sealing a deal for some of its break-fix operations.