Craneware remains focused on US

The Aim-quoted firm, which writes billing software for hospitals, now has a presence in every American state after last month's acquisition of US rival ClaimTrust.

But chief executive Keith Neilson yesterday ruled out expansion into other countries in the short term because of the huge size of the US market.

He told The Scotsman: "To put it in context, Americans spend more on healthcare than the entire gross domestic products (GDPs) of the UK and Italy combined - so I think it's quite right that we continue to focus our growth on the US."

The company stressed that it had no plans to move Craneware to the US despite the country accounting for all of its revenue.

Neilson said: "I see us as being outsourced from America but, instead of being based in somewhere like India, we're based in Scotland, where we can recruit the best programmers and support staff.

"Two weeks ago we moved from Livingston into our new base in Edinburgh at Tanfield, the old Standard Life office. I think that shows our commitment to remain in Scotland."

His comments came as Craneware posted a 25 per cent rise in revenue to $16.6 million (10.2m) in the six months to 31 December and a 31 per cent increase in pre-tax profit to $4.3m.

Both figures matched those given in January's trading update. Neilson said he saw lots of opportunities for selling Craneware's products to ClaimTrust customers and vice-versa.

Although he did not expect to make another acquisition immediately, Neilson added: "Never say never."

Paul Morland, an analyst at Numis, said: "Healthcare reform in the US, whatever its final form, is expected to be a strong driver for Craneware's products for the next several years."