Logica Plc charmed the markets on Thursday with a volley of good news and a plausible tale of wise acquisitions. The UK systems integration and software company has forecast full year pre-tax profits to rise by 14% to 28.1m pounds while also announcing the 51m pound acquisition of Irish mobile telecommunications systems and software specialist Aldiscon Ltd, and the share price jumped 60 pence to 750 pence. Telecommunications is a big part of Logica’s new game plan and including Aldiscon, it will become 18% of total business. Dublin-based Aldiscon, which made 3m pound pre-tax profits on 27m pound revenues last year, is a specialist in real time data interrogation via wireless telecommunication networks, focusing on Short Message Service centers, mobile phone roaming platforms (its biggest being Cellnet’s new roaming system in the US) and pre-paid mobile phone schemes, popular in fast growing cash-based economies where personal credit ratings are hard to come by. Many of its big name customers are already client’s of Logica, who see big plus points in marketing integrated services to these, as well as the new names in the client base. The acquisition will be funded by a 52.5m pound one for seven, fully underwritten, rights issue priced at 605 pence.
