School software firm's sales boost

The Leeds-based company, formerly known as Amteus, suffered a blow when the coalition Government withdrew matched funding.

But the group said that it started selling the imJack platform direct to schools in June and has been encouraged by the amounts invoiced up to the beginning of the school holidays in mid-July.

The company is also introducing new revenue streams by attracting businesses to become sponsors to assist schools with the imJack platform and to help the students with their career choices. Activity has been limited over the summer holidays, but sales have picked up since the start of term.

The directors said the imJack product is being well received. The company provides a private platform for schools to communicate via instant messaging, video conferencing and file sharing.

The group reported pre-tax losses of 1.8m for the six months to the end of March, compared with losses of 970,000 a year earlier. Revenues were just 6,000, compared 173,000 a year ago.

The company has been consolidating and strengthening its balance sheet in recent months and said the results did not reflect the progress it has made.

During the summer it raised about 900,000 through a placing, which will be used for working capital and to pay creditors of its main trading subsidiary imJack Secure Communications. The group raised 710,000 and 2m through share placings in December 2008 and June 2009 respectively, but these did not prove sufficient.

The group told shareholders at its annual general meeting in Leeds yesterday that it will update the market on progress within the next six weeks.