I-Design shares on the rise

SHARES in a Fife firm whose software is used in the ATM networks of a string of major banks soared 30 per cent yesterday after it flagged narrower annual losses.

In a short pre-close update, I-Design - whose products allow banks to show advertisements on their cash machine screens - did not disclose a figure for its full-year deficit. But analysts at Edison Investment Research trimmed their loss forecasts from 1.1 million - in line with last year's deficit - to 1m.

I-Design said revenues in the second half of the year were "significantly" higher than in the first half. The company now expects to post full-year sales of 2.2m, compared with 2.4m last year.

Martin Lister, an analyst at Edison, said there was a "high potential" for the firm to move into "sustainable profitability" on the back of selling more adverts on cash machines.

The company predicts that it will have about 750,000 cash in hand at the end of the year, in line with City forecasts.

In September, Royal Bank of Scotland extended its exclusive contract with I-Design to cover all of the cash machines installed at Tesco's supermarkets.

Shares closed up 3.5p last night at 15p.