Companies: LOQ   

Electronic queuing specialist Lo-Q plans more expansion after increasing first-half profits from £14,327 to £182,300 before tax.

The Henley-based company, whose ‘virtual queuing system’ allows theme park visitors to avoid lengthy queuing for each ride or event, lifted turnover 52 per cent to £4.1 million in the six months to June. The successful addition of a new park in Texas helped swell growth for AIM-quoted Lo-Q, which is well represented in the USA and last year turned a £351,000 loss into a £551,235 annual profit.

Chairman and chief executive officer Jeff McManus says the company’s new VQ 2020 system is now operating in nine of the ten parks where Lo-Q provides its facilities and has received ‘encouraging’ customer feedback. He reports further positive reaction to the trial of Lo-Q’s new Test-Q system at the Drayton Manor theme park in Tamworth, Staffordshire.

According to McManus, trading in late spring was ‘a little slow’, but he says the pace has quickened since then. He adds that the company is ‘mindful that the economic climate here and abroad could cause progress to slow, as could persistent bouts of poor weather’, but argues the board is ‘very happy with the company’s strong performance so far this year’.

Floated at £1 six years ago, Lo-Q shares had a distinctly tough few years and fell all the way to 4.75p by autumn 2005. They have now rallied to 31p, valuing the company at £4.75 million.

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Lo-Q	AIM	£5.98m	39.00p	1.50p
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