Glasgow-based secure cloud services firm Iomart announced the appointment of Richard Last as non-executive chair as it confirmed revenue growth of 10% to a record £127 million and a 1% rise in adjusted profit before tax to £15 million for the year to March 31, 2024.
Total dividend for the year will be 4.94p, down from 5.44p in the previous year.
In its outlook Iomart said: “The industry-wide change to VMware licensing introduced by Broadcom has resulted in increased costs ahead of associated revenue enhancing opportunities and this, combined with the timing of revenue recognition from the recently secured customer contracts and inflation driven cost and salary increases, means growth is likely to be more second half weighted in FY25.”
Iomart shares fell as much as 6%.
Lucy Dimes, who had assumed the role of chair and CEO since September 2023, will step down as chair and continue as full-time CEO.
“Richard is a seasoned board director with extensive experience across quoted and private companies in the technology services sector,” said Iomart.
“Over the past six years, Richard has held chair positions at Hyve Group Plc, Gamma Communications Plc, Arcontech Group Plc, and Servelec Group Plc.
“In addition to his private company board roles, Richard is currently chair of Tribal Group Plc and Gresham Technologies Plc, as well as a non-executive director of Corero Network Security Plc.”
Last said: “In taking up the role of chair, I was impressed by the leading position Iomart has established in the cloud services marketplace, the strength of its customer relationships and the talent across the team.
“I am very much looking forward to working with the board to leverage these strong foundations and support the group in realising its growth ambitions.”
Dimes said: “Since I took on the dual role of chair and CEO in September 2023 we have been running a diligent process for a new chair, and we are delighted to have attracted such an experienced and knowledgeable individual as Richard.
“His wealth of experience in M&A and growing many successful technology sector leaders will be a great asset as we drive forward the execution of our growth strategy.”
Iomart said its cloud managed services revenue, the largest component of the group, increased 17% to £75.2 million, driven by around 3% organic growth and approximately £8.9 million revenue contribution from the latest three acquisitions.
On the results Dimes said: “I am delighted to report on a year of revenue growth supported by two acquisitions and organic growth within cloud managed services, the area which is the key focus of our commercial and product strategy.
“We delivered good profitability and continued strong cash generation, providing us with the strong financial foundation on which to execute our growth strategy.
“Our vision is to be the UK’s leading secure cloud services provider to the SME market. We want to provide a compelling proposition to customers as cloud optimisation experts and a managed service provider that delivers the right cloud for the right workloads, which is secure by design.
“In a world where computing demands are getting ever more intense, and businesses across all sectors and size are looking at how they can harness the very latest technologies, Iomart sits in an enviable position.
“We have a valuable data centre estate and capability connected by a fibre backbone, providing security, resilience and control, underpinned by a talented team of world class technical experts and engineers, combined with proven expertise across a range of customer segments.
“This and the financial firepower to rapidly expand our offering and scale through selective M&A gives us the confidence to drive for accelerated growth and achieve our vision.”