Bytes Technology profits jump as H1 billed income surpasses £1bn

(Sharecast News) - Bytes Technology, the FTSE 250-listed software, security and cloud services group, hiked its interim dividend by 12.5% after a strong first half, with revenues and profits rising by double-digits and billed income jumping by over a third. The company reported revenues of £108.7m for the six months too 31 August, up 16.3% year-on-year, helped by strong levels of demand for security, cloud adoption, digital transformation, hybrid datacentres and remote working solutions.

Gross profits were up 15% on last year at £75.3m, helped by higher gross invoiced income (GII) and increased gross profit per customer - though the gross margin edged down to 69.3% from 70.1% 12 months earlier.

GII surged by 37.6% to £1.08bn, exceeding the £1bn mark for the first half for the first time. "The exceptional level of growth was underpinned by some large, strategically important, contract wins in the public sector (most notably with the NHS and HMRC) and by continued demand from corporate customers," the company said.

Bytes declared a dividend for the period of 2.7p per share, up from 2.4p in the first half last year.

The company now has over 1,000 staff, having added 10% to the headcount over the first half.

Looking forward, Bytes said momentum has continued into the second half. "Whilst we remain mindful of the challenging macroeconomic environment and geopolitical uncertainty in Ukraine and the Middle East, we are confident in our ability to capitalise on the growth opportunities we see ahead.

"The group's proven strategy of acquiring new customers and then growing our share of wallet, building on our strong vendor relationships and the technical and commercial skills of our people, ensures we are well placed to continue our progress over the remainder of FY24."