LONDON (ShareCast) - Shares in management services group Pennant International plummeted over 14% on Tuesday, as the group said contract delays weighed on full-year revenue.
The group posted a 3.5% decline in pre-tax profit to £2.17m, as revenue fell 4.8% to £17.8m, which the company attributed to a decline in revenue in its training system division, which offset a 7% increase in its software service arm.

Lower-than-expected revenue in the training system business was due to a contract that was expected to be awarded in 2014 being delayed into 2015, the company said, claiming that "significant orders" will provide "major opportunities" this year.

The London-listed group said its annual net profit increased 76.5% to £3m, as it booked a £814,612 tax credit compared with a charge of £550,830 in the previous year, after successfully claiming £1.3m in research and development tax credits for 2012 to 2014.

Despite the decline in revenue and pre-tax profit, Pennant said it remained confident ahead of the current financial year.

"The board looks forward to further progress across the group in the current year, with an anticipated weighting towards the second half," said group chairman Christopher Powell.

The group increased its final dividend for 2014 to 2.0p a share, 11.1% higher than in 2013, bringing the total for the year to 2.9p.

Pennant shares were down 14.20% to 84.08p at 14:49 on Tuesday.

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