Anite on target for full year

Software group Anite said third quarter trading reflected a relatively quiet seasonal period but it remains confident about the outturn for the year as a whole.

Anite, which provides software solutions to the international wireless and leisure travel industries, said trading in the quarter ended January 31st 2013 contrasted with an unusually strong third quarter last year which was driven by high demand from Handset Testing customers investing in initial 4G LTE systems at the end of the 2011 budget year.

"Handset Testing will require a good performance in Q4 in line with historical seasonal trends. The business is well positioned to achieve this, with continuing strong underlying industry growth drivers and an increased sales pipeline," it said in a company statement.

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The group also noted, in contrast to last year, it saw a return to the normal position of customers taking time to release budgets at the start of the calendar year.

Anite added that recent activity levels in Network Testing and Travel support those businesses achieving full year expectations however Travel requires around £1m of licence revenue from new and existing customers before the year end. The group reassured that a significant pipeline of opportunities exists to meet this requirement.

Despite tough comparatives and economic headwinds, the group said it remains encouraged for sustainable growth and anticipates that full year adjusted profit before tax will be in line with market expectations.

Chief Executive Christopher Humphrey commented: "Anite remains on track to deliver good growth this year. As expected, we require a strong Q4 performance in order to achieve expectations for the year."

"Our sales pipelines continue to increase and the fundamental growth drivers of our businesses are developing positively, despite economic headwinds. Looking ahead, we remain encouraged by the group's prospects for sustainable growth."

CJ