KBC Advanced Technologies unveils drop in annual profits

KBC Advanced Technologies, a consultancy and software provider to the hydrocarbon sector, reported a fall in annual profits as a result of reorganisation costs.

The company posted pre-tax profit of £3.7m for 2012, down from £4.9m the prior year, as the group underwent a significant year of change including new leadership and restructuring.

During the year, the firm welcomed Caroline Brown as its new Chief Financial Officer following the resignation of Chief Executive Officer George Bright and Finance Director Nicholas Stone.

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KBC was hit by redundancy and reorganisation costs of £1.7m, which included enhancing the technology management team, improving the direct sales channel and developing new products.

In June, the firm acquired Infochem Computer Services, a software and services provider to the upstream sector, for £9.5m.

"[Last year] was a year of significant change for KBC," said Chairman Ian Godden.

"After a slow start in the first half, the group responded decisively and, under the new leadership team, ended the year with a very strong final quarter, culminating in the award of a major multi-year consulting and software contract. This helped us generate an underlying profit before tax slightly ahead of revised expectations."

He said KBC has started to benefit from the reorganisation of the company this year and he expects the group to deliver on plans to grow the business profitably.

Shares fell 4.91% to 63.00p at 14:30 Tuesday.

RD