Tax Systems paying down debt as it integrates OSMO acquisition

Corporation tax software and services supplier Tax Systems traded in line with expectations in its first half, it said on Wednesday, with net debt of £24m also falling into line with the board’s forecasts.

The AIM-traded firm said that during the six months to 30 June, it repaid £0.9m of bank debt, and customer renewals in the period were “strong”.

In addition, it said new customer wins across the group's existing markets of large corporations and accountancy firms were in line with the organic growth plan.

The integration of OSMO Data Technology. acquired on 3 April, was proceeding as planned, the board claimed.

It said that, less than three months after the acquisition, OSMO was now linked with Tax Systems’ flagship product AlphaTax, as recently demonstrated at the company's customer conference on 4 July, where close to 200 people reportedly attended.

“We are pleased with the group's progress for the first half of the year,” said Tax Systems Gavin Lyons.

“The last year has been one of significant change and we have made substantial investment in our people, processes, systems and technology.”

A key focus over the period was the continued investment in the group's people, product development and systems infrastructure, the board explained.

As a result, the group said it made “significant strides” having defined its 18-month technology roadmap and all releases were launched as planned for the first half of the year.

That included the recent launch of the group's first cloud-based product, a data entry module designed to enable accountancy firms to collect data more efficiently from customers.

To support the further rollout of the technology roadmap, all of the group's technology offerings were realigned into four core suites - Alpha Compliance Suite, Alpha Control Suite, OSMO Automation Suite, and ‘services’.

The company would continue to invest in its technology offering with a focus on enhancing its cloud capabilities, the board added.

Tax Systems said it expected to report results for the six months to 30 June in September.

“All aspects of our business are operating in line with expectations,” Gavin Lyons added.

“Looking ahead, the market opportunity is driven by regulation and internal pressure for tax departments to improve efficiency, reduce operational risk and increase audit control.

“We remain optimistic about the group's growth prospects.”