Cerillion PLC on Monday reported a sharp rise in interim profit, due to projects with new customers and new orders from existing ones, leading the firm to up its dividend.

Shares were down 53.5% at 738.00 pence each on Monday around midday in London.

Cerillion is a London-based billing and customer relations management software firm.

In the six months to March 31, pretax profit jumped 72% to £5.7 million from £3.3 million in the same period a year before.

This was on healthy revenue growth of 26% to £16.1 million from £12.8 million.

Cerillion said it achieved record revenue, net cash, and adjusted pretax profit in the half-year period.

‘These excellent results reflect the major implementation and upgrade projects underway with new customers and strong flows of business with existing customers, as well as an increased baseline of recurring income,’ the company explained.

As a result of its strong performance, Cerillion proposed an interim dividend of 2.6 pence, reflecting a 24% increase compared to 2.1p a year prior.

The firm also restated its intention to distribute between a third to half of its free cash flow as dividends each year, subject to its performance.

Looking ahead, Cerillion said it is well-positioned to achieve its full-year targets. It noted that it expects new ‘major’ customer signings in the second half and beyond.

‘Our interim results set new records for revenue, adjusted pretax profit and net cash across any six-month period, and demonstrate the strong momentum in the business,’ Chief Executive Louis Hall commented.

‘We see excellent opportunities for continuing growth and the new customer sales pipeline has grown significantly. Given the company’s progress, and its strong financial and operational position, we continue to view prospects very positively,’ he continued.

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