Craneware chief executive Keith Neilson says he is "very positive" about the company's prospects going forward despite the political noise in the software provider's main US market.
Speaking as Craneware posted record financial figures for the first half of the year, Mr Neilson said the company's tools for improving efficiency in the healthcare sector are driving sales as hospitals have re-focused on the "fundamentals" following the US presidential election. Few of the more than 100 executive orders from the White House since Donald Trump took office have directly affected the healthcare industry, with the exception of last month's decree on pricing transparency for patients.
"Through our solutions, we provide a lot of transparency on what hospitals are actually doing," he observed.
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Pre-tax profits for the six months to the end of December rose by 21% to £20.6 million as Craneware returned to double-digit growth, while revenues were up 10% at £100m. Reflecting the upbeat outlook, the board has declared a 4% hike in the interim dividend to 13.5p per share.
"We're expecting that trend [of double-digit growth] to continue and over the medium term to actually accelerate as well," Mr Neilson said.
The company's software is used in about 2,000 hospitals across the US, giving it an approximately 40% share of that market. Craneware products are used by approximately a further 10,000 clinics and affiliate retail pharmacies.
Technology analysts Roger Phillips and Julian Yates at Investec noted that the headline figures were in line with Craneware's latest trading update, while the detail "looks good" with the possibility of beating full-year expectations.
They believe sales will be bolstered by last week's launch of Trisus Assist, an AI augmentation that will be rolled out across the whole of the Craneware product suite. This uses Microsoft technology and operates similar to Copilot in MS Word as a virtual assistant to help administrators identify areas for efficiency savings.
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Given the inordinate regulation, rulings and policy statements in US healthcare, we see this as one of the best vertical markets for AI adoption, potentially significantly buttressing Craneware's competitive position," the Investec analysts said.
Headquartered in Edinburgh, Craneware has about 200 employees in the UK made up predominantly of product developers and product engineers. The company employs roughly another 600 people in the US following the £283m acquisition of Florida-based Sentry in 2021.
""We continue to look at acquisitions and look at expansion in that way," Mr Neilson said yesterday. "Right at the moment the private sector valuations are probably a little bit out, just with where the market is, but we continue to look and we continue to build relationships with both partners and potential acquisition targets."
Shares in AIM-listed Craneware closed yesterday's trading 10p higher at 1,770p.
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