Adept revenue flies up by a quarter following acquisitions

Acquisitions contribute majority of growth

Adept Technology Group has seen its revenue shoot up by over a quarter, having completed a number of acquisitions over recent months.

Revenue for the half ending 30 September increased 26 per cent year on year to £30.8m, with managed services accounting for 82 per cent of this (£25.1m).

Acquired businesses ACS, Shift F7 and ETS contributed the majority of the increase, with organic growth at about 2.5 per cent.

Adept said it is in "an excellent position to take advantage of the continuing convergence between IT and telecoms".

Chairman Ian Fishwick said: "I am delighted to see the organic revenue growth that has been achieved alongside successfully continuing with our acquisitive growth strategy.

"The results for the period demonstrate the strength of our capex-light, highly cash-generative business model which is focused on high levels of recurring revenue.

"I am pleased to see the positive results of our efforts, as trading continues to be in line with management's expectations. We have a fully supportive investor base and funding partners, and in this converging and fragmented marketplace we will continue to pursue our strategy to identify earnings-enhancing acquisitions while retaining the ability to continue with our progressive dividend."

Adept's EBITDA margin was down slightly, to 19.8 per cent from 21.2 per cent in the comparative half last year.

Profit before tax decreased 35 per cent to £1.1m as a result of increased amortisation and a £0.4m increase in interest charges, as debt rose to fund recent acquisition.

Adept's share price fell as much as 12.4 per cent today.