In a short trading update today, product lifecycle software and services provider Sopheon confirmed that H1 is panning out as it hoped and that many - although not all - of the deals it expected to close by June 30 have been signed off. It now says revenue visibility for the mid point was £9.6m vs the £7.5m it had expected at the time of its AGM trading update in June (see Sopheon raises guidance for 2012) and the £7.8m visibility of the year ago quarter. H1 revenue is expected to “comfortably exceed” revenues for the year ago period and EBITDA is also expected to be up despite additional spending on sales which drove costs up. It sounds like licence sales have received a boost. The company struggled to find growth during 2011 (see Licence sales elude Sopheon) but 2012 has got off to a better start. The PLM market is sensitive to change in the wider market and the economy, resulting in fluctuating performance for Sopheon.