February 24, 2012 – Hansen Technologies Limited (ASX: HSN) is pleased to announce a solid first half year performance and a 3 cent per share interim dividend.
The Group operating result for the half year to 31 December 2011 was:
- Revenue of $28.4 million, (1.5 % increase pcp)
- EBITDA of $10.27 million, (2% increase pcp)
- Profit before tax of $9.2 million, (4% increase pcp)
- Net Profit after tax of $7.1 million, (3% increase pcp)
The Directors of Hansen have declared a partially franked interim dividend of 3 cents per share with:
- 1 cent per share fully franked, and
- 2 cents per share unfranked,
- a record date of 7 March 2012,
- payment on 28 March 2012, and
- a 2.5% discount to the application price for shares issued in accordance with the Company’s Dividend Reinvestment Plan.
In announcing the half year result, Hansen’s Chief Executive Andrew Hansen, observed, “I am pleased to be able to report on a solid and stable performance in the first half of this fiscal year. We have worked hard over recent years to diversify our business both geographically and by industry. As a result we have been able to continue with a solid performance in spite of economic instability inherent in some of the geographies in which we operate.
There are signs confidence is returning to our focus industries in North America with new project opportunities emerging. Accordingly we have expanded our activities and increased our investment and profile in the North American market. However the economic instability in Europe is marginalising business confidence in the region. This has had the effect of deferring decision making on large project expenditures in Europe resulting in delays in the progress of new software related projects.
As our international focus grows we continue to be influenced by the strong Australian currency, which has had a negative impact on revenue during the first half of this year.
On the other hand the strong Australian dollar enhances the attractiveness of international acquisitions by lowering their cost in $A terms. We are continuing to actively pursue acquisitions of like businesses which will expand our areas of influence and extend our software solution suite.
Even with these destabilising factors in play we have been able to continue to perform well, consolidating on the gains achieved in past years. Furthermore we are positioned to benefit further when the Australian dollar returns to its more historical value range.
We remain committed to supporting our customers, their requirements for performance improvement and the changing technologies of the industries within which they operate. Accordingly this year we are investing further in our software solutions to ensure they keep pace with industry and technology advances.
The investment we made last year to increase the capacity of our Melbourne Data centre and expand our cloud computing solution offering has attracted a number of new customers. We still have capacity available and I am confident there is an ongoing demand for these services which we are well positioned to service.
Our first 6 months operating performance is a good solid start for this fiscal year. Looking forward I am confident that new growth.
NOTES:
Detail of Hansen’s Dividend Reinvestment Plan including the share pricing methodology is available here.
The conduit foreign income component of the unfranked dividend is nil.
Shareholders wishing to participate in the Dividend Reinvestment Plan need to have lodged the required DRP Notice with the Company’s Share Registry by no later than 5.00 pm on the record date, 7 March 2012.