Aveva swings to profit in first half

8th Nov 2016 07:58

(ShareCast News) - FTSE 250 engineering software provider Aveva swung to a profit in the first half of the year as revenue rose despite "continued tough trading conditions".In the six months to the end of September, the group made a pre-tax profit of £5.5m compared to a £800,000 loss the year before, as revenue edged up 3% to £84.3m. Aveva pointed out that in 2015, reported profit was hit by the professional adviser costs associated with the aborted transaction with Schneider Electric.As far as revenue is concerned, it said the weakening of the pound in the aftermath of the Brexit vote has had a favourable impact.Aveva lifted its interim dividend by 117% to 13p per share following the board's decision to re-weight the total dividend more heavily towards the interim dividend than in previous years.Chairman Philip Aiken said: "The first half financial performance was resilient in the context of current market conditions, with strong cash generation highlighting the strength of our business model. "We have made good progress in laying the foundations for growth, progressing our readiness for future SaaS/Cloud demand and winning significant new contracts. There have been some changes to our board and we were delighted to appoint James as chief executive which will ensure continuity in driving the group's strategy. Looking forward, the full year outlook remains in line with the board's expectations." At 0805 GMT, the shares were up 0.5% to 1,788p.