Intercede confident after beating expectations and narrowing losses

Intercede's beat analysts' expectations on Wednesday, reporting a narrower annual loss following a jump in revenues and a reduction in costs, leaving the business confident in its outlook and in a "much better position" than at the end of the year before.

The digital identity and credential management solutions provider achieved a loss before tax of £0.5m for the year ended 31 March, compared with a loss of £4.9m the year before, as revenue increased by 10% to £10.1m and operating expenses were slashed by 26% to £10.1m.

Each division saw an increase in revenue after Intercede won a number of new customers, with services and maintenance enjoying a 5% increase to £4.6m, software licenses revenue climbing by 12% to £3.8m and professional services seeing an 18% increase to £1.7m.

Meanwhile, a cost-cutting review to remove significant costs from the business without impacting operational capability was responsible for the reduction in operating expenses, which saw the business swing to an operating profit of £20,000 a year before the AIM traded company had expected to achieve profitability.

Meanwhile, cash and cash equivalents stood at £3.2m at the end of the year, up from £2.3m at the same point 12 months prior.

Chuck Pol, chairman of Intercede, said: "I am pleased to announce that the group is reporting performance that is ahead of market expectations by returning to profit a year earlier than expected. This represents a significant turnaround from the losses incurred in recent years and I would like to thank all Intercede staff across the group for their hard work and dedication throughout the year."

Chief executive Klaas van der Leest added that the business had "a much better framework in place for future success" following changes made during the year, with the priority to maintain its "excellent" customer list by delivering value to clients.

Intercede's shares were up 3.27% at 38.21p at 1023 BST.