Iomart boosts profit and eyes fresh deals

Cloud computing firm Iomart said yesterday that it is confident about its outlook, and reiterated its interest in further acquisitions after posting growth in revenue and profit for the six months ending 30 September.

Angus MacSween said it was a good trading period. Picture: Contributed

The Glasgow-based company posted a year-on-year jump in revenue of 16 per cent to reach £36.4 million, while adjusted pre-tax profit increased by 8 per cent to £8.7m.

Chief executive Angus MacSween said: “This has been another good trading period for the group, driven by both organic and acquisitive growth.”

Iomart noted its acquisition of IT consultancy SystemsUp, for an expected maximum consideration of £10m, and of managed hosting business United Hosting after the period end for up to £11m.

The firm’s management told The Scotsman that the business is always on the lookout for ­further deals, and is continually in conversations on this, but strict criteria on who it buys and for how much means it rejects 95 per cent of those that come up for offer.

Iomart added that it increased its banking facility during the period, growing to £60m from £35m and extended through to June 2019, which will help to finance further deals.

The group, which runs eight data centres, said the cloud market landscape in which it operates continues to evolve and will become more “challenging,” but it is confident it can adapt.

“We have to stay agile and ­nimble,” the firm stated.

MacSween noted the company’s plans to add staff to support its growth, adding: “We believe we are well-positioned in the market and remain confident in the group’s growth prospects.”