Business is going to plan at Allocate Software with H1 (to November 30 2011), performing in line with management’s expectations, although we did pick up a note of caution from CEO Ian Bowles’s comment that he ‘would prefer to see a faster closure rate on some of the NHS transactions.’
Nevertheless, of the 12 new contracts Allocate secured for its e-rostrering application HealthRoster, 11 were for the NHS. In addition, 3 NHS Trusts extended their licences. The company now has 156 Trusts using the application, which is good progress and provides a strong base for extension business.
Healthcare continues to progress in general, with the Swedish business going well and the Australian operation developing following the RosterOn acquisition in mid 2011. Allocate also signed its first national agreement in Brunei, to deploy HealthRoster across all public hospitals and will be hoping this will spur similar deals in the region. The reassuring first half update follows a good full year (see Allocate’s health rating rises).
The defence side of the business was quiet with nothing flagged up for H1 - a major extension to the existing Australian Defence Force contract missed the cut and was signed off in H2. In the maritime division the highlight was a deal with engineering, offshore oil and gas company McDermott.
It looks like momentum remains with the healthcare sector in the UK and internationally but its best prospects probably lie outside UK healthcare. Full H1 results will be released in early February.