Tale of two halves for Tracsis with profits stronger in second

The Leeds-based firm said first half pre-tax profits will be dented by exceptional costs relating to recent acquisitions and the disposal of its Australian operation.

In addition the seasonality of the acquired businesses will have an impact, with recent acquisition SEP heavily weighted to the summer months.

“The seasonality bias only relates to the specific timing of the acquisitions made and will be reversed in the second half where profit is expected to be significantly stronger,” the group said in an update.

The firm said it had a busy first half with positive trading across the group and it completed the acquisitions of Ontrac, SEP and made a strategic investment in Citi Logic.

Revenue for the six months to January 31 rose 17 per cent to £14m, thanks to organic growth and the contribution made by SEP and Ontrac. The group said it is well placed to deliver full year results in line with market expectations and remains vigilant to changing market conditions.

Analyst Roger Phillips at Investec said: “The interim update reflects a year where, as expected, EBITDA is set to be biased towards the second half due to the seasonality of one acquired business, and a full half inclusion in the second half for another.

“Our 2016 earnings expectation looks supported and we make no change to forecasts.

“Tracsis remains a key sector small cap pick for us.”