Advertisement

Quindell revenue more than doubles; ups EBITDA margin forecast

(Reuters) - Quindell Plc , a British IT outsourcing and consultancy company, said third-quarter revenue more than doubled, boosted by a jump in sales at both its services and solutions businesses and raised it core profit margin forecast for the full year.

Quindell's volatile stock, which is listed on London's Alternate Investment Market (AIM), rose as much as 7.6 percent at 166 pence on Monday morning.

Revenue rose 115 percent to about 198 million pounds for the quarter ended Sept. 30, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 141 percent.

Quindell said it expects EBITDA margin to be between 40 percent and 45 percent, up from its previous range of 35 percent to 45 percent.

"The board is confident that the upper end of market expectations can be achieved for the full year for 2014 on revenues of between 750 to 800 million pounds," Chairman Robert Terry said in a statement.

Quindell's customers include British American Tobacco , ING Groep NV , Aviva Insurance Plc, Peugeot , Royal Mail Plc and Old Mutual Plc .

Revenue from services rose 124 percent to about 177 million pounds, while Quindell's solutions business saw a 20 percent rise in sales.

The company added that a number of "core business relationships" were expected to expand in the fourth quarter.

Quindell said last month that it would buy UK road assistance firm RAC out from their join venture to install tracking devices in vehicles.

Reports in August over the health of the agreement had caused a 17 percent fall in Quindell's shares.

Quindell said on Monday that it continued to consider and pursue all available options, including share buy backs, U.S. stock listing, disposal or demerger of assets or divisions and strategic and/or financial investments by third parties.

The company said in June that its application for a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange had been turned down. Quindell said it did not meet a rule that its business should not have undergone significant change in scale or operations over the previous three years.

The company said in August that it was still exploring a U.S. stock listing and would not immediately re-apply for a premium listing in London.

Quindell's stock has shed about three-quarters of its value in the past seven months after U.S.-based Gotham City Research raised questions about its revenue model and profit quality. (http://link.reuters.com/waw68v)

The company last month said it had won a libel lawsuit against the short-seller.

Short-sellers borrow stock and then sell it on expectation of a fall in price, aiming to cover their position at a profit.

The company's shares were up 4.3 percent at 163.375 pence at 0707 GMT on the London Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bangalore; Editing by Sunil Nair)