IOMART’s chief executive Angus MacSween has said the cloud computing specialist plans to raise the stakes on the acquisition front amid expectations it could double revenues to £200 million over the next five years.
Speaking after Glasgow-based Iomart posted a 12th successive increase in annual sales, Mr MacSween said the acquisitive firm is likely to increase the size of deals it completes as it looks to maintain its record.
Read more: iomart eyes deals after £80m war chest boost
While growing demand for its cloud computing and data storage services means the outlook for organic growth is good, the fact the sector is highly fragmented has created opportunities for the firm to act as a consolidator.
Mr MacSween noted iomart would need to cut bigger deals than it has in the past to result in a significant increase in its turnover, which exceeded £100m for the first time in the year to March 31.
“Adding another sub £1 million turnover business is not worthwhile,” said Mr MacSween, who added that deals worth £10m or more would likely be on the agenda.
“We have got the appetite and the financial firepower,” said Mr MacSween. The firm can draw on the £80m credit facility it arranged in June to fund deals.
The appointment of well-known Scots dealmaker Ian Steele as the company’s new chairman in August sent an apparent signal of intent.
Four months later iomart acquired LDeX for an initial £7.8m. The company expects to pay a further £3m based on the expected performance of LDeX, which has data centres in Manchester and London.
In August iomart bought York-based data centre operator Bytemark for £4.9m.
Directors reckon the acquisitions completed by the firm over the years have left it well positioned to compete in a market that is set for sustained growth.
“The growth in data requirements sees no slow down, with the number of users, devices, content rich data and applications increasing demand for computer power, storage and connectivity,” said Mr McSween. “Development around such areas as machine learning, internet of things and big data will ensure this is a long term trend.”
Iomart continues to benefit from moves by organisations to outsource their IT functions.
Employee numbers in Glasgow have grown to around 150 in the last five years, from 100.
On Brexit iomart said: “While the uncertainty caused by political delays is frustrating, we do not foresee any material direct impact from the potential Brexit scenarios.”
Aim market-listed iomart grew sales by six per cent annually to £103.7m in the year to March 31 from £97.8m. Underlying profits before tax rose 6%, to £25.5m from £24.1m.
The company proposed a final dividend of 5.01p per share taking the annual total to 7.46p, against 7.18p last time.
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