Misys improves by 88%

MISYS, the computer services group, continued its strong recovery with an 88 per cent jump in pre-tax profits from pounds 3.6m to pounds 6.8m. The company's shares, which have more than doubled over the past year, added 48p to 435p, writes Tom Stevenson.

Kevin Lomax, chairman, said that more than half the increase in earnings per share, from 7p to 11.9p, came from existing businesses, with the rest coming from acquisitions during the year.

Sales of computer systems to the insurance broking industry were especially strong and operating profits from the financial services division more than doubled from pounds 1.6m to pounds 4m.

'With gross margins of about 60 per cent we were hit very hard by the downturn in sales at the beginning of the recession. Sales are improving now for the first time in two years,' Mr Lomax said. The interim dividend is 15 per cent higher at 2.61p.