Maintel eyes next acquisition after squeezing £5m in synergies from Azzurri

CEO Eddie Buxton says Maintel would be open to acquiring in managed data space after contribution of Azzurri helps it post annual sales of £108m

The CEO of Maintel says the integrator and MSP is back on the acquisition trail after "largely accomplishing" its integration of Azzurri.

In a full-year results statement, Eddie Buxton (pictured) said Maintel has squeezed £5m in expected annualised cost savings from combining the two outfits - more than it had originally anticipated - as he signalled the AIM-listed firm could be ready for its next meal.

For the year to 31 December 2016, Maintel's revenues rose 114 per cent to £108.3m, with Azzurri's eight-month contribution to the top line standing at £57.8m.

Group adjusted EBITDA beefed up 63 per cent to £12.6m, including a £4.9m contribution from Azzurri, while group adjusted pre-tax profit rose 52 per cent to £11.1m

Buxton said the integration of Azzurri, which Maintel acquired partly for its ICON cloud platform, is now "largely accomplished". The Azzurri brand was binned in October, and there is now one organisational structure and set of systems in place, he said.

Buxton likened the Azzurri acquisition to "swallowing a pill twice our size" at the time the deal was announced and indicated Maintel would take an acquisition breather.

But almost a year on, Maintel's tummy is rumbling again, Buxton indicated.

"We continue to monitor the market for further acquisition opportunities, particularly within the managed data and hosted services arena, where we see the most complementarity with our existing business and a robust outlook for growth," Buxton said.

Maintel achieved cash synergies of £2.2m during the year, above its expectation of £1.9m. The expected annualised figure for 2017 stands at £5m, compared with its initial target of £4.6m.

Organic growth for the year stood at one per cent, with the underlying Maintel business registering organic growth of four per cent thanks to a string of "major" contract wins in the second half.

Recurring revenue for the year stood at 73 per cent of the total, up from 69 per cent a year earlier.

"The combination of the enlarged customer base and the broader technological platform positions Maintel well for an exciting growth trajectory in the cloud environment and we look forward to 2017 with cautious optimism," Buxton concluded.