Much as presaged in its recent trading update (see here), increasingly diversified – and very acquisitive – software and IT services firm, IDOX, closed the year with a more even balance to its geographical and vertical businesses.
At the headline level, revenues for the year to 31st October jumped 50% to £57.9m, with underlying organic growth around 7%. Operating margins eased just under a point to 14.1%, with a slightly sharper decline at the EBITDA level, to 28.8%. Pre-tax profits were boosted 23% to £6.9m, while some useful tax reversals saw EPS jump 44% to 1.84p. Management announced a 13% increase in the div to 0.675p per share on the year.
IDOX has several moving parts, not all of which are moving in quite the same direction. The core Public Sector software business (52% of total revs) grew by 15% (6% organic) though recurring revenues and margins were both down. The private sector-focused Engineering Information Management business is now 31% of total revs, with acquisitions trebling last year’s result. Margins expanded. The Information Solutions (mixed services) business (13% of revs) declined organically, though margins improved. And IDOX’s vestigial recruitment business (4% of revs) did what most sub-scale recruitment businesses do in a downturn – shrunk. IDOX now gets 31% of its revenues overseas vs 12% the prior year.
Frankly I think this is a pretty good result given the frenetic activity during the year, what with five acquisitions and significant overseas expansion. Management will need several steady hands on the various tillers to keep IDOX tacking towards its double-digit organic growth target. If it were to drop a couple of the smaller sails (to hammer the analogy to death) perhaps it might get there a little quicker.