iomart Group plc ("iomart" or the "Company" or the "Group") Pre-Close trading update and Notice of Results

LONDON, September 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

iomart (AIM:IOM), the cloud computing company, today issues a pre-close trading update ahead of the announcement of the half yearly results for the six months to 30 September 2012.

Group trading performance

The Group has performed strongly with revenues and profits substantially ahead of the comparative period last year and consequently the Board is confident that the financial performance of the Group for the full year will be ahead of current consensus market expectations.

The focus of the business continues to be on the provision of high quality and high margin managed solutions to SMEs and corporate clients. These contracts are typically for two to three years in length underpinning the Company's very high degree of visibility of its earnings for the coming year. Furthermore, clients are increasingly staying with iomart on contract renewal, underscoring the Company's established reputation as a market leader.

The acquisitions of Melbourne and Skymarket announced last month are being integrated successfully into the business and are expected to complement the Group's strong organic earnings growth. In particular, the Melbourne business extends the UK coverage of the Company into the North of England.  

Outlook

We believe cloud computing will continue to be critical to all companies over the next few years, as corporate budgets continue to support online strategies, and the move to a hosting environment which delivers significant cost savings and flexibility becomes more compelling. The market potential remains substantial as it is estimated that while there has been a strong increase in hosted services in recent years, approximately 85% of all servers are still located at a company's own premises.

We will continue to pursue further opportunities for acquisitions of quality, high margin businesses which make a contribution to Group profits. 

Notice of Results

The Group expects to report its half yearly results for the six months ended 30 September 2012 on 27 November 2012.

Angus MacSween, Chief Executive of iomart, said:

"We are delighted with the continued progress of the business. The recent acquisitions are performing in line with our expectations. We are into our fifth year of double digit growth and the demand for our services remains robust as businesses increasingly see the value of outsourced cloud services."

For further information:

iomart Group plc                
Angus MacSween, Chief Executive
Richard Logan, Finance Director
Tel: +44(0)141-931-6400
 
Peel Hunt LLP
(Nominated Adviser and Broker)
Richard Kauffer
Daniel Harris
Tel: +44(0)20-7418-8900

Newgate Threadneedle            
Caroline Evans-Jones
Hilary Millar
Tel: +44(0)20-7653-9850