SciSys, the specialist IT firm with a base in Bristol, this week said it had ended a major contract which plunged it into the red last month and is now predicting a brighter future.
Problems with the major fixed-price development project for an unnamed client pushed SciSys into a £1.1m half-year loss. In June millions of pounds were wiped off SciSys’ stock market value when it issued a profits warning over the contract.
SciSys, which works with blue-chip clients across the space, defence, media and government sectors, admitted it had underestimated the size and complexity of the project.
On Wednesday SciSys said it had reached an agreement with the client that had brought the project to a mutually satisfactory conclusion.
A statement to the London Stock Exchange said: “This brings clarity to the uncertain position that prompted the trading update in June.
“Consequently, the board is confident that the company will achieve at least the revised profit guidance published in June. Short-term opportunities to utilise resources previously absorbed by the remedial works on the problem project will govern the extent of any performance improvement in the remainder of the financial year.”
Last month SciSys said revenues in other parts of the group had been hit as resources were committed to the project for longer than planned, reducing capacity to capitalise on other revenue generating opportunities.
SciSys shares rose by more than 2% on Wednesday morning after it announced the termination of the contract.
SciSys employs nearly 450 staff across its offices in Brislington, Chippenham, Leicester and Reading and two in Germany. It develops complex IT projects in sectors such as space, defence and media for clients spanning the European Space Agency, the BBC, Airbus and the Ministry of Defence.