Enables IT, a small infrastructure services firm targeting the US and UK markets, has reported revenues of £7.13m for the year ended 30 September 2013. Of that total, £4.7m comes from the UK and the remainder from the US. The operating profit before exceptional items was slim at £187k. However, including exceptional items of £563k (£380k of which was due to the impairment of intangible assets), it made a loss of £376k.
Enables IT has been through some significant changes in the recent past, which makes it difficult to make a comparison over last year. In November 2012 it completed the reverse takeover of Nexus Management (Enables IT reaches its Nexus). Then in July of last year, it acquired managed services firm, The Support Force Group Ltd. The acquisition trail continued after the close of FY13 with the purchase of US-based Know Technology LLC in December 2013. Enables IT’s (restated) revenue for FY12 was £2.7m, with an operating profit (including exceptional items) of £89k.
Enable IT’s offerings include managed, professional and support services. It also has a virtual private cloud platform called HAVEN (High Availability Virtual Enterprise Network). However, as we’ve pointed out before (see Unexceptional half for Enables IT), there are many, many firms also providing these services into a very ‘cost conscious’ market. Competition is high, there is pressure on pricing, and it can often be very hard for the smaller providers to create a name for themselves in such a busy and competitive market. Enables IT could now do with some ‘quiet time’ to build its brand in the market (or rather, markets – UK and US), get the organic growth line motoring and improve profitability. There are certainly challenges ahead.