SSP on growth track

Acquisitive insurance IT provider SSP Holdings is in a bullish mood after lifting annual profits from £532,000 to £1.4 million.

Turnover at Halifax-based SSP rose 23 per cent in the year to March to £39 million. Of this, 78 per cent came from rental and maintenance, transactions, and committed services.

A leader in supplying IT systems and services to UK general retail insurance brokers, SSP, which was floated on AIM by broker and nominated adviser KBC Peel Hunt last October in a £31 million placing at 98p, increased operating profit 36 per cent to £4.5 million. The company turned an after-tax loss of £335,000 into a £2.5 million net profit after a £1.1 million tax credit related to the exercise of options ahead of the float.

Steered by executive chairman David Rasche, SSP, which ended the latest financial year with £6 million cash, made its biggest takeover in May when it bought Sirius Financial Solutions, a complementary business with, like SSP, an international network. SSP paid £43.4 million in a shares and cash deal that becomes effective today and raised £5 million in a placing at 140p to pay for part of it.

Rasche sounds optimistic about current prospects, claiming the opportunity for further ‘strong growth this year and beyond’. The shares, which hit 145p in April, now trade at 139p, valuing the company at £97 million, and could well outperform some sector peers.