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Cambridge engineering software pioneer AVEVA Group saw its market cap dip to £1.29 billion and its shares fall 33p after a set of results for the year to March 31 that flattered to deceive despite a return to growth.
Favourable currency exchange rates bolstered revenues that were 7.1 per cent up at £215.8 million. Adjusted profit before tax increased 7.4 per cent to £55m.
The company trumpeted “significant new customer wins in growth markets and industry verticals, with North America and Power performing strongly” and announced a final dividend of 27p – taking the total dividend to 40p per share, an increase of 11.1 per cent.
While remaining upbeat, CEO James Kidd (pictured) stated that times remained challenging. He said: “AVEVA’s performance was resilient in the context of challenging conditions in our core Oil & Gas and Marine end markets. This demonstrated the strength of our business model, with high levels of recurring revenue and continued strong cash generation.
“We made good progress in delivering against our growth strategy, with significant new order wins in the Owner Operator market, growing sales of our ‘More Than 3D’ products and success in broadening our end market exposure.
“Although the timing of a return to material demand growth in our core end markets is difficult to predict, I am confident that our strategy will deliver good growth in the medium-term and that AVEVA is well positioned to benefit from a recovery in our end markets.”
Brokers remain split on whether shareholders should stick or twist in terms of buying, selling or holding the stock. Finance News Daily reports that among 16 analysts covering AVEVA, six had a Buy rating, two Sell and eight Hold.
from Business Weekly http://ift.tt/2rcajHu