Escher Group wins largest contract to date; shares surge
Escher Group (LON:ESCH) has won its largest contract to date, a US$50 million 54 month deal to provide its Riposte software suite to what it called a leading postal authority.
The IT firm, which specialises in software for the postal industry, said there is scope for substantial additional revenues. The deal is expected to generate US$4 million for Escher this year and increase in 2013 as the software is rolled out across the network.
"We are delighted to be able to announce today's contract win. This is a significant step forward in Escher's growth and continued development," said chief executive of Escher Liam Church.
Last year, Escher secured similar contract from Armenia's Haypost and Saudi postal service ABANA.
The group said today that it expects to post revenues of US$14 million for 2011 and book net earnings of US$2.4 million.
In the second half of the year, Escher set up a new division focused on Near Field Communication (NFC), a fast-growing standard that permits device-to-device communication, which it expects to provide more opportunities in the postal market as well as in telecoms and retail.
"We expect 2012 to be a strong year with the prospect of further substantial growth in 2013 for the Group as we benefit from the investments made in 2011.," said Church.
Following the contract win announcement, shares in Escher rallied 13.5 percent to 200 pence in early deals in London, valuing the group at £34.1 million.
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