AttentiV Systems stock has been knocked by an unexpected setback at one of the UK financial software firm's biggest clients.
At the company's AGM today, Peter Bertram, chairman of AttentiV, told the meeting: "Following the successful implementation of our technology by one of our major clients in 2004, the client has now decided to amend its business plans in 2005. We had been anticipating a range of service revenues from this customer that will now be at a reduced level. Although our first half result is expected to be in line with expectations, this decision will impact our second half."
He says the full year results are anticipated in line with expectations, subject to the company's ability to find new revenue opportunities from within its existing customer base.
Bertram says the firm is at the early stages of a number of emerging sales opportunities for the core Summit product and "there is also a good level of pipeline activity for the Portfolio product", which struggled last year.
In November, the firm reported a 25% increase in turnover for the full year ending 30 September 2004, while pre-tax profit tripled to £3.2m compared to 2003. Highlights included the delivery of the Summit retail product to The Royal Bank of Scotland and the signing of a five-year support and development agreement with Intelligent Finance.
The vendor's stock slipped 10.5% to 59.5 pence as the markets digested the latest news. The statement tarnishes AttentiV's previously unblemished record, dragging the company's value down below the 60 pence a share mark reached on its first day of trading on AIM in March last year.