Emis reports better first half

Earlier this year the Leeds-based group said it failed to meet service levels and reporting obligations with NHS Digital that are expected to have a multi-million pound financial impact on the firm.Emis CEO Andy Thorburn said the group has made an £11.2m provision to cover the NHS Digital legacy and said the service was back on track on July 1 after the firm took on an extra 93 members of staff to iron out defects."We put a lot of effort getting it back on track and we expect to do well," said Mr Thorburn."There were absolutely no patient or data safety issues."The glitches were to do with the way Emis answered calls and minor software defects such as texts appearing in grey not black and users having to right click twice rather than once.Emis hopes to settle the issue with NHS Digital by the end of this year and expects the provision to be within the £11.2m it has set aside.The group said revenue rose 7 per cent to £84.5m in the six months to June 30. Adjusted operating profit rose 1 per cent to £17.6m and the group has raised its interim dividend by 10 per cent to 14.2p a share."We are very confident about the company and we have great foundations," said Mr Thorburn."We have an exciting time ahead, but have lots to do. I've always tried to set high standards and do more than is expected. We strive to be the best we can be."Over the period the group launched Patient Access App 2.0, the UK’s leading independent provider of patient-centric medical and wellbeing information and related transactional services.Analysts an N+1 Singer said in a note: "First half results are broadly in line, with reasonable revenue growth, but profits largely flat reflecting the investment in Patient. "The market remains tough, with new growth opportunities hard to come by. Much therefore rests on the new Patient division and the new CEO’s ability to formulate a credible growth strategy."