LONDON (ShareCast) - Security software provider Intercede has turned to a loss for the half year ended September 30th, which the firm blamed on the implementation of its strategic investment programme to accelerate the growth of the business.

On revenues of £3.51m (2011: £3.53m) the firm delivered a loss of £0.84m, compared to a profit of £0.7m the same period the previous year. Earnings per share fell from 1.4p to a loss of 0.2p.

Admin expenses suffered a significant rise, from £2.8m to £3.7m year-on-year, with staff costs continuing to represent the main area of expense, totalling 72% of the total operating costs during the period (2011: 79%).

Richard Parris, Chairman and Chief Executive of Intercede, said today: "We have continued to make good commercial progress in challenging markets while resolutely laying the ground for our future strategic development.

"As governments and corporations become increasingly aware that identity assurance is a critical cornerstone of cyber security, the need for Intercede's MyID software platform is becoming more widely recognised. To exploit this opportunity we have made excellent progress in developing a number of new solutions and partnerships that we expect to announce in the coming months.

"We are confident and committed to our investment plan in support of Intercede's 2020 vision for high growth in the medium to long term. In the short term shareholders should be comforted that, in spite of a period of increased investment, our cash position is stronger than ever."

Looking forward the company is looking to increase sales and marketing efforts in promoting its key 'MyID' product and to extend product development in areas such as mobile devices and integration with the newly released Microsoft Windows 8.

The group was able to boost cash levels to £7.2m compared to £6.97m at the end of March and £6.56m at the end of September. "Shareholders should be comforted that, in spite of a period of increased investment, our financial position is stronger than ever," the firm assured.

The share price fell 3.5% to 69p by 12:35.

NR

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