Cloud computing company iomart, which has data centre facilities and offices in Manchester, York and Leeds, has recorded its 12th consecutive year of growth but cut its final dividend because of weaker margins.
For the year ended 31 March 2020, pre-tax profit rose 4% year-on-year to £16.8m and revenue rose 9% to £112.6m.
Gross margin reduced to 60.8% from 64.4% and the company proposed a final dividend payment of 3.93p per share, down 22% from 5.01p, resulting in a total dividend for the year of 6.53p, down from 7.46p on-year.
“This is the 12th consecutive year of growth since the transition of the business to cloud services in 2008 with the acquisition of our first data centres,” said CEO Angus MacSween (above).
“Since that time, revenues and profits have grown considerably, with revenue reaching £112.6m, through the combination of continued organic growth and acquisitions.
“As we look forward to the next stage of growth, we do so with our teams all working remotely and the world around us considerably changed due to the global impact of Covid-19.
“Our focus must be first and foremost on the wellbeing of our people, all of whom have risen to the challenge fantastically, for which I and the Board are extremely grateful.
“Together we have built a strong, resilient business, providing mission critical infrastructure to a wide spread of customers across diverse industries. This resilience will serve us well as we progress through the months ahead.
“The switch to remote working across the world has only accelerated the move to the cloud which we believe will be a growth driver for our business over the longer term.
“Our high levels of recurring revenues, breadth of customer base, industry leading profit margins and strong cash generation, mean we are confident iomart is well positioned to withstand the current challenges and deliver long-term growth.”
