Teesside technology firm Vianet has hailed “real momentum” across the business in its half year results, in which revenues and profits rose.
The Stockton firm, which provides monitoring systems to unattended vending machines, pubs and restaurants, has published results for the six months ended September 30 2021, in which sales increased from £4m in the comparable period to £6.3m.
Adjusted operating profit rose to £820,000, from a loss of £380,000 and Ebitda came in at £990,000, from a loss of £260,000.
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The group said it has seen a strong recovery in its Smart Zones division, aligned to the re-opening of pubs in the second quarter of its financial year, together with good growth in both new business and unit sales in its Smart Machines division.
The firm said: “This has resulted in a good H1 2022 performance, improving the quality of our strong recurring revenue base. Vianet has also made progress towards commercialising data capture in other verticals, which will provide the group with a further growth engine.”
Vianet said that, on the back of real momentum in the trading period – and subject to global semiconductor chip supply chain and Covid-19 pressures – it expects to achieve market expectations of £2.2m in adjusted operating profit this financial year and a return to pre-pandemic levels of trading the following year.
In October, James Dickson, chairman and interim chief executive officer of Vianet Group plc said that, subject to no further lockdowns or restrictions on the hospitality sector in the second half of the year, and a degree of relative stability in the semi-conductor supply chain, the firm expects to reinstate a dividend in July for the full year.
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In the meantime, the firm said: “Maintaining a prudent approach, the board will not declare an interim dividend for the current financial year.”
Mr Dickson said: “The first half has seen a return to operating profit with positive momentum in the second quarter going into H2.
“Whilst we are not immune to the global supply chain and Covid-19 pressures, our H1 2022 results provide real momentum into H2 2022, with a clear line of sight towards meeting FY2022 market estimates of £2.2 million and giving rise to the group’s return to pre-pandemic levels of trading during early FY2023.
“The group has been laying the foundations for growth and now has a strong pipeline of opportunities in several verticals where our data capture will allow customers to increase sales, improve efficiency and reduce their carbon footprint.”