Crimson Tide turnover surges as it continues to invest in growth

The AIM-traded firm said its profit before tax before exceptional items rose marginally to £0.36m from £0.35m, after it made “significant” investments in future growth.

Its board also claimed to be in a “strong” cash position.

On the operational front, the company said its ‘mpro5’ product was now in use in more than 200,000 locations, with a geographic expansion underway.

It also incorporated ‘internet of things’ (IoT) technology into mpro5 during the year.

“We are very excited by the early results of our continuing growth strategy,” said executive chairman Barrie Whipp.

“In 2017 profitability was carefully maintained as we invested £350k in new staff and marketing, where we believe we will start to see benefits this year.

“Consequently it is not unreasonable to say that profits would have almost doubled if we had maintained our previous strategy and not invested in our future expansion.”

That, however, was not the best course to plot for shareholders, Whipp stated, as the board saw “much larger” opportunities ahead.

“We will continue to invest in 2018, allowing us to be more ambitious for future growth in our core markets but also in new geographic locations.

“Our aim is to grow the company more significantly in the coming years and we are establishing a base to manage that expansion.”