LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Digital identity, credential management and secure mobility provider Intercede released its interim results for the six months ended 30 September on Monday, reporting a 5% improvement in revenues to £4.4m, which it said reflected a strong end to the half with orders received from both new and existing customers.
The AIM-traded firm said its operating expenses narrowed by 9% to £4.3m, which the board put down to staff cost savings and continued tight control of overheads.

It also reported a return to operating profit at £25k, swinging from a £0.61m operating loss year-on-year, which was the first time that had been achieved since the same period six years ago.

A profit for the period of £0.2m was recorded, doubling from £0.1m year-on-year, which resulted in a basic profit per share of 0.4p and a fully diluted profit per share of 0.3p, compared to a basic and fully diluted profit per share of 0.2p 12 months earlier.

Cash balances stood at £5.2m at period end, an increase of £1.5m over the last 12 months, which Intercede said was primarily driven by positive cash generation from operations.

On the operational front, the company said its sales team had been strengthened, including the hiring of a new partner manager who had been tasked with enhancing the firm's partner program.

The establishment and further development of partner relationships was "critical" for the group's future growth prospects, the board explained.

Intercede also launched its 'Innovation Hub' during the period - an internal team tasked with guiding the future architecture and functionality of Intercede products and improving how it developed and delivered software and services.

The company released its 'MyID Professional' product as well, which it described as a simplified version of 'MyID', targeting the "large addressable market" of mid-market enterprises, enabling them to move to the strongest form of user authentication with less cost and risk.

"The results we are announcing today do not represent the full story of the progress that has been made to refocus the group's strategy towards sustainable revenue growth and profitability," said chairman Chuck Pol.

"The return to a first half operating profit, the first time this has been achieved for six years, is an important milestone.

"The laser focus on our new strategy is evident, particularly in the growth of our cash balances and our dedication to writing the best code in the industry."

Pol said the release of MyID Professional represented a "more scalable version" of MyID that would give customers and partners "the strongest form" of user authentication in a simplified, lower cost format.

"There remains further work to be done, but the direction of travel and momentum in the business reflects the considerable achievements of the Intercede team to date - we remain on track."

At 0845 GMT, shares in Intercede were up 3.43% at 34.65p.

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