Healthy export sales helped Jade Software make record after-tax net profits of $7.1 million in 2006.
The company posted net profits of $2.9 million in 2005, but managing director Rod Carr says a direct comparison is difficult because of the change in business structure in respect of Jade’s health and independent software vendor business lines.
A whopping 57% of total revenue was derived offshore. Carr says he’s contractually prohibited from naming many of the projects involved — “I’ve got 16 I’d like to talk about.” But he did confirm a good kick-off contract for 2007.
“Last Friday (March 2), we confirmed a five-year, 16-person contract with the Skipton Building Society subsidiary Homeloan Management Ltd, in the UK.” He says this will be worth $13 million in the first three years of the contract.
Earlier this year, Jade also signed an exclusive agreement with an Australian government agency, enabling the commercialisation of a security intelligence system developed for it by Jade. The multi-lingual system is deployed in 40 sites across 11 countries and, says Carr, appears to meet a significant need in both Europe and North America.
“However you measure it, Jade is continuing to grow. The number of customers and users, total revenues and staff are all increasing,” he says.
“Underpinning this expansion is a strong balance sheet, with cash on hand of $21 million, and substantial and growing shareholder equity.
“Jade is forecasting increased revenues and some modest expansion in margins on core business in 2007,” he says.
“We continue to grow organically, but seek further strategic partners who have domain knowledge, existing customers or legacy systems where Jade’s technology and experience are complementary.”
Jade 6.2 will be released in the middle of the year.