iSOFT publishes strong growth figures

iSOFT the supplier of clinical software in three of the five regions of the NHS IT modernisation programme has published its preliminary results, showing that in 2005 the firm made profits before tax of £44.5 on a turnover of £262 million – almost 75% more than its 2004 turnover.

The figures represent the first year of operations for iSOFT since it merged with Torex, and are the first full-year figures since the company was selected as the clinical application provider in three-fifths of the English NHS. iSOFT is contracted to deliver its new Lorenzo system, currently under development, under the NHS IT programme contracts.

The strong reported results indicate that iSOFT is seeing revenue from its three main NHS IT contracts with Accenture and CSC. The company also announced a series of international contract wins and developments.

Tim Whiston, iSOFTchief executive said that future prospects looked good both in the UK and internationally with increasing numbers of healthcare providers investing in large scale modern information technology systems. According to Whiston the global electronic records market is currently worth around £3.5 billion and growing rapidly.

Summarising contract wins outside of the UK iSOFT pointed to Germany, where it has been selected to supply systems to Aachen University Hospital, and to supply Lorenzo to the Robert-Bosch Hospital.

In its preliminary results iSOFT revealed that it is involved in advanced discussions with Lieden University Hospital on what would be the first sale of Lorenzo into Holland. The firm also announced that it has entered into a development partnership with SingHealth to deliver an initial solution based on Lorenzo by December 2005.

The Hong Kong Hospital Authority, which manages all public hospitals in Hong Kong, has also selected iSOFT to participate in a design and evaluation exercise as part of its strategy to implement electronic clinical information systems.

In Australia the company is supplying patient management systems to the state of Queensland and is involved in contract negotiations with Victoria for the supply of a state-wide patient administration system.

Whiston said: "We are excited about prospects in our traditional markets of the Asia Pacific and Europe, where we are evaluating a number of major sales opportunities. We are also now examining the North American market in greater detail."

According to the firms figures it has increased spending on R&D from £12.7 to £18.3m, equating to 7% of turnover. Other developments reported include the establishment of a new solution development centre in Hyderabad, India. This follows the development of a large product development centre in Chennai, India.

iSOFT also announced that Patrick Cryne, non-executive chairman and company founder, will step down by next April. Cryne will continue as a strategic advisor to the company. In a further change, non-executive director and chairman of the Confederation of British Industries, Sir Digby Jones, will not seek re-election to the board.