17th Apr 2019 09:45
LONDON (Alliance News) - Universe Group PLC on Wednesday said profit increased in 2018 due to new customer wins and strong performance across its customer base, despite the loss of key customer Conviviality PLC.
Shares in Universe were up 12% at 5.60 pence in early trade.
The company, which develops and supplies point of sale, payment, and loyalty systems, posted a pretax profit of GBP836,000, up 7.3% from GBP779,000 the year before.
Revenue climbed 1.5% to GBP19.9 million from GBP19.6 million despite the loss of GBP2.0 million of budgeted revenue following the demise of large customer Conviviality, which owned Bargain Booze, in early 2018.
The loss of Conviviality resulted in a 7.7% drop in licences and hardware revenue to GBP3.6 million from GBP3.9 million but this was offset by a 3.5% revenue rise in service and installations, as well as a 2.0% rise in data services and a 4.8% increase in consultancy, licence, and maintenance.
Post year-end, in April, Universe acquired Dublin-based cloud-based retail and wholesale management solutions firm Camden Technology Investment Ltd, which trades as Celtech, for GBP5.0 million.
Universe Non-Executive Chair Andrew Blazye said: "During the year, we have secured important contract extensions from existing customers, won new customers and completed a number of strategic partnerships.
"The group remains profitable and cash generative, with a high level of recurring revenues and strong cash reserves. We continue to invest in the business with key hires and significant product innovation, which will have clear benefits over the longer term."
"Supported by the strategic acquisition of Celtech and our new partnerships, we are confident the group is well positioned for significant growth in 2019 and beyond," he continued.
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