Kainos improves annual profit, excited by opportunities in UK and US

Shares in Kainos were down more than 5% despite the IT, consulting and software solutions company booking an improved set of full-year results.

Statutory pre-tax profit was ahead 20% to £14.3 million, from £11.8 million, while revenue was up 26% to £76.6 million, from £60.8 million. Proposed final dividend was 4.2 pence a share, from nil.

It continued to observe an improvement in market conditions in the UK public sector as large government departments and agencies initiated and progressed digitisation projects.

The company, which listed in July 2015, said it expected the drive for digitisation within the NHS and local government would accelerate in 2017. New flagship clients included UK's Office for National Statistics and the National Assembly for Wales.

"We are very pleased with progress to date and excited by the opportunities ahead. We are seeing continued stability and improvement in core markets and we are encouraged by the emerging opportunities in the US," said chief executive Brendan Mooney.

"Our investment in new products is being validated by an increasing rate of customer uptake, and the feedback on the quality of our products and services remains very high," he said in a statement.

Mooney said Kainos' pipeline of prospects continued to strengthen across all divisions and that directors believed the group was well-positioned for growth in the coming years.