Anite hails 'exceptional' year

Software firm Anite reported strong results and boosted its dividend after a year that exceeded expectations.

The company said its mobile phone testing division helped drive pre-tax profits up 75% to 28m.

Revenues were up 31% to £122.5m, something the company recognised with a 53% increase in its final dividend, to 1.125p.

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Basic earnings per share went up 97% to 6.5p.

Anite said that its three businesses, handset testing, network testing, and travel industry software, were all well placed to deliver sustainable growth and increased shareholder value going forward.

It singled out the handset testing arm, which it said was capable of achieving double-digit revenue growth for the immediate future.

"The inexorable increase in mobile data and smartphones and in the complexity of devices and networks as new technology is introduced - will continue, and will undoubtedly create more requirements for testing," said Chief Executive Christopher Humphrey.

"To ensure that we will be ready to take advantage of the opportunity this offers, our total R&D spend during the year was a record £17m, a 32% increase year-on-year," he added.

Anite said it expected revenues at its handset testing division to grow in the low to mid teen percentage range this year.

In network testing it expects mid single digit percentage growth in revenue, while travel growth is expected to be similar to the one just completed, with a low single digit percentage rise in revenue.