Win

Mobile phone services provider Win says it will ‘significantly’ beat expected profits for last year and is encouraged by growth prospects.

The Bucks-based business, which works with mobile networks and helps companies to operate a raft of mobile functions from websites to text message updates to music downloads, was anticipated to post a £1.2m profit for the year to December. But CEO Graham Rivers says that by containing costs and focusing on higher-margin business in the latter months of the year, over £40m of annual revenue will generate underlying pre-tax profits some way ahead of those predictions.

The company also revealed that cash balances at the year end had risen to £3.1m from the £0.9m where they ended June. Furthermore, the group announced it had won a contract to develop, host and manage the mobile internet launch in Romania for Deutsche Telecom, owner of T-Mobile.

Rivers has stated his intention to make a sizeable acquisition using paper and with the company’s shares having recovered strongly from May’s 41.5p low – and up 57% since being backed by Growth Company Investor in October – a deal could be on the cards. Also, having endured many hours of unproductive takeover talks with potential acquirers over the last two years, the fact that acquisitive mobile communications business Oxygen8 has built up a 10% stake suggests another bid for the company may emerge.

Either way, Win is on a successful streak, returning to growth after a steady but unspectacular last few years. However, based on forecasts from house broker Arden of £1.8m profits and 11.9p earnings for 2010, the dividend-yielding shares remain lowly rated compared to many telecoms peers.