It’s hard to believe but Romtec Ltd says that the Pegasus Group Plc is once more the leading publisher of accounting software in the modular sector with over 46% market share by volume in the UK in the half year. This is despite the fact that its turnover has dropped 35% to UKP2.3m on last time and pre-tax profits have taken a dramatic nosedive, falling 93% over the same period to UKP68,000. Pegasus says the pre-tax slump is partly due to a UKP607,000 boost from its Business Forms subsidiary that was sold off last September after competitors started to erode its profitability and also the one-off effect of the launch of the Version 6 upgrade for Pegasus Senior which swelled turnover to UKP3.5m. Still, the company is heartened by the fact its Opera software, which was released last September, has increased its software sales and gross margins; and if we are to believe Romtec, Opera now has a 15% market share. According to Jonathan Hubbard-Ford, chief executive of Pegasus, the company has been concentrating on product development that will bear fruit in the coming months; Senior version 7 is out in November and will have additional features including purchase order processing, job costing, purchase invoice register and tracking. Enhancements to Opera include two additional modules and are scheduled to ship in October. Both Opera and Senior upgrades will feed into next year’s balance sheet, Hubbard-Ford says. Pegasus has also started licensing its software which has resulted in a growth in its cash reserves, now standing at UKP8.5m. Pegasus will draw on this reserve to expand its product range and according to Hubbard-Ford it is currently negotiating in several areas although he wouldn’t elaborate further.
