Anite is confident that it will end its fiscal year in line with expectations despite a quiet Q3, following a H1 that was impacted by lumpiness in travel division revenue and the currency translation effect that had a negative impact on network testing (see here). Q3 last year was unusually strong (see here) so the comparison was always going to be hard - the three months to January 31 2013 marked a return to the seasonal norm rather than a shift in conditions.
Group revenue and adjusted PBT are ahead of the year ago nine month figures, so Anite is still delivering growth and remains in a good position to meet full year targets. As of February 28 2013, it had net debt of £8.5m (vs. net cash of £16.9m on April 30 2012 and net cash of £16.8m October 31 2012) due to the Propsim acquisition and the payment of an interim dividend.
Although 3G work is still generating revenue for Anite, it is 4G work that matters. The good news on this front was that the UK 4G spectrum sale finally took place in February, realising £2.3bn but at that level it missed forecasts by £1.2bn. It remains to be seen whether this is a prelude to more restrained spending on 4G by mobile operators. The UK is a small part of Anite's total market so any effect is likely is likely to be modest, so long as the international 4G market grows as expected.