Q3 (ending January 31 2011) has been another good period for Anite thanks once again to rising demand for handset testing. With demand coming from 2G/3G as well as LTE, there is nothing to indicate that the pace of this business will slow. Indeed, management is raising H2 revenue and operating profit expectations compared to H1.
It did not disclose the numbers in its interim statement but order intake, revenue and adjusted profit before tax were all up on the year ago quarter, and on Anite’s expectations. That shows what being in a technology hot spot can do for a business even when the global economy is difficult.
Network testing is still waiting for its time to come and is partially dependent on the development of the LTE market, which is moving slowly. Performance of this segment of the business remains in line with expectations. It did see 6% growth in H1 (see Anite soaring on wireless thermals) and we expect H2 will also deliver modest growth. Anite has invested upfront in this area so will be keen to see more activity, particularly following on from its Invex benchmarking acquisition (see here) and Q2 product launch.
As to the travel business, it needs c£1.5m of licence revenue sign-off before the end of the year in order to meet expectations. We don’t imagine those expectations were set high given that travel revenue was down 9% in H1. Anite says the pipeline is there, from new as well as existing customers. Travel remains an anomaly within Anite in terms of performance and business fit.