Macro 4 Plc of Crawley, West Sussex, has reported buoyant profits and turnover figures this half, following product roll-outs and increased input from most subsidiaries. The mainframe software rental firm upped net profits by 8.6% to 3.6m, on turnover boosted by 7.9% to 12.1m. The firm, which gets 80% of its revenues from overseas, has experienced poor performance only from its Japanese and Brazilian agents, and from its Spanish subsidiary, which is just about cash-sufficient. Still very much in the mainframe arena, the company is still hoping to increase the number of AS/400 products to eight from three by the end of the calendar year. Since June 30, the company has launched three mainframe products and is continuing to enhance the range. It had cash balances of 19.2m on December 31, down from 19.8m at fiscal year-end on June 30. It points out that it made a 1.56m tax payment in August, subsequent to its year-end results. It is not actively looking to acquire anyone, and will maintain its tradition of paying out a lot in dividends. The interim is up 27.9% to 8p.
