CompuGroup maintains growth

German health-IT vendor CompuGroup has posted a strong set of results showing revenues up by 12% over the first half of the previous year to €94m.

However, taking into account higher staff costs, income tax charges and depreciation charges, earnings were down.

The company said it remained confident of hitting its revised forecast for €225m of sales in the full year 2008.

The six month results come after a recent spending spree which saw CompuGroup acquire Norwegian IT company ProfDoc in June. In July, CompuGroup also bought All for One, a specialist provider of software for rehabilitation centres and social care units.

CompuGroup reported that earnings were primarily held back by hiring extra staff in development, marketing and sales to build up the health insurance business in Germany. The extra staff were said to have not yet had a major positive impact on earnings.

Extra costs, an increase in depreciation and a higher income tax charge meant that company reported consolidated earnings for the first six months of 2008 fell €6.8 million, down from €15.3 million in the first half of 2007.

Frank Gotthardt, chairman of the management board of CompuGroup Holding AG, said: "The first-half came in largely in line with our forecasts.”

He added that the acquisitions of Profdoc, All for One and Fliegel Data would yield “considerable synergies while once again substantially increasing our capacity for future growth”.

Gotthard confirmed that following the success of its voluntary tender offer, CompuGroup has managed to acquire the entire share capital of Profdoc ASA, making it the market leader in three additional European countries.

CompuGroup says it now has by far the largest market presence among European physicians, with a customer database of some 330,000 health service providers.

The company said that the acquisition of a 90% equity stake in All for One Systemhaus AG significantly bolstered the Group’s position on the German rehabilitation and care market. As a result, the Group became German market leader in rehab clinic information systems by quite some margin over other suppliers.