Dundee cash machine software firm i-design multimedia has banked a massive increase in profits.
Newly published accounts at Companies House show the City Quay-based company made a pre-tax profit of £5.39 million in the 15 months to December 31, up from the £154,007 it reported in the previous 12-month-long period.
The transformation in the company’s fortunes followed its £8.5m acquisition in March last year by US cash machine giant Cardtronics, and a subsequent £5.75m receipt from an intra-group intellectual property rights licence.
Turnover in the 15-month trading period was marginally ahead of 2012’s £2.27m figure at £3.36m, while gross profit was slightly down at £1.26m compared with the £1.39m seen in the shorter 2012 accounting period.
The company generates revenues from consultancy work and from the sale of licences for its joono and atmAd software platforms to ATM network operators.
The firm’s advertising solutions have attracted a range of blue-chip clients including Nivea, Vodafone, Coca-Cola and British Airways, with the number of i-designed licensed cash machines worldwide growing by 1,000 to 31,000 during 2013.
In his directors’ report, company secretary Michael Keller said the acquisition of the business by Cardtronics was the “undoubted highlight of the period”, and said the deal significantly increased the firm’s long-term potential.
“i-design’s services remain market leading, with third-party advertising offering up new revenue streams to network owners and banks,” Mr Keller said.
“The continued growth of the company’s base of licensed ATMs both with new and existing clients demonstrates the worldwide appeal of our product offering.
“The advertising market will remain very challenging in the short term but we believe longer-term growth potential remains encouraging, with scope to continue building the ATM customer base as well as third-party advertising revenues.
“We believe that the business is well placed and the board remains positive about the group’s longer-term growth prospects.
“The acquisition by Cardtronics significantly increases the opportunities for the company and provides significant further optimism for the future of the business.”
The accounts show the vast majority of the company’s business more than £2.8m of the £3.3m total was conducted in the UK, with Europe contributing £47,161 and the rest of the world accounting for a further £490,465 of sales.
The firm slightly increased its workforce from 31 to 33 in the period, with overall employee remuneration moving ahead from £1.06m in 2012 to £1.65m.
Founder and managing director Ana Stewart said the growth she had hoped for was “coming to fruition” following the Cardtronics acquisition.
She said that growth had continued this year, with staff numbers increasing to almost 40, split between sites in Edinburgh and Dundee.
The company has also secured its first deal in Africa, involving several thousand cashpoints belonging to a major lender.
“There’s real excitement that we are realising what we had hoped through this acquisition,” Ms Stewart said.