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Latest results from Full List newcomer Micro Focus were hugely encouraging. During the year to April the company – producer of technology that is used by large organisations to revamp their existing IT systems – grew pre-tax profits by 24% to $27.7m (£15.9m), on sales increased 19% to $150.6m. This rapid growth owes much to Micro Focus’ near-unique proposition, explains chief executive Tony Hill: ‘In simple terms, our goal is to help people get the most out of what they have.’ Rather than selling completely new systems, therefore, the company’s basic premise is to take the legacy systems upon which a business previously relied, uncouple them from the firm’s in-house mainframe and instead upgrade them to meet the demands of the online age. This is makes for a powerful proposition given Hill’s assertion that ‘as much as 80% of an organisation’s software budget may be used to maintain and operate legacy applications that have traditionally been too inflexible to integrate with one another or with newer technologies.’ Impressively, around 70 of companies featured in the Global 100 are claimed as clients and recent months are said to have seen ‘even greater penetration of [the group’s] target markets.’ In 2005/06 expectations are that profits will rise to more than £30.1m, with earnings hitting 10.6p per share. At current levels the shares trade on a prospective p/e of 15.5 and look good value.

Micro Focus International Plc	LSE	£538.03m	268.00p	12.00p
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Micro Focus International			18/07/2005