Maintel grows by more than a third

Comms VAR that bought Datapoint and Proximity considering further acquisition opportunities

Comms VAR Maintel is open to more acquisitions following a "transformational year" during which its sales expanded by more than a third.

On the back of its acquisition of Avaya partners Datapoint and Proximity Communications, Maintel saw revenues bulge by 35 per cent to £41.9m in the 12 months to 31 December 2014.

Adjusted pre-tax profit at the AIM-listed VAR, which draws 73 per cent of sales from recurring revenues, rose 16 per cent to £5.2m.

Ignoring the contribution of acquisitions, organic revenue rose one per cent.

The integration of Proximity – its largest acquisition to date, for £8.5m – is "progressing well", Maintel said, and the Avaya Platinum partner contributed £1.9m in revenue and £0.3m in pre-tax profit last year in the two months it was on board.

"Our current priority is to complete the successful integration of Proximity into the group, capitalising on the enhanced product portfolio, skillsets, cross-selling and cost-saving opportunities that the acquisition brings," said chairman John Booth.

"We do, however, remain committed to considering further acquisition opportunities, both businesses and customer bases, where these can be seen to add shareholder value."

Bolstered by Datapoint, which it acquired in September 2013, Maintel's managed service and equipment sales division saw revenues grow 47 per cent. On an organic basis, sales here declined one per cent.

Network services unit sales rose three per cent, or two per cent in organic terms, with mobile division revenues increasing 12 per cent following a disappointing 2013.

"This has been another significant year in the development of Maintel," said Maintel chief executive Eddie Buxton. "We have delivered a strong financial performance, with pleasing organic growth in a challenging market, complemented by the acquisition of Datapoint in 2013 and Proximity in 2014, which has brought additional strengths in the areas of unified communications, contact centres, design authority, data networking, security and wireless."