Recovering from a very poor half year, Riva Group Plc the Westhoughton, UK supplier of electronic point-of-sale systems has turned in a surprisingly up-beat 12-month performance. Net profit for the year to December 31 was 272,000 pounds, compared with just 20,000 pounds this time last year, on revenue that fell 11.8% to 64.4m pounds. Chairman Peter Giles predicted a strong second half back in October and Riva has delivered (CI No 3,018). The very poor operating margins seen in 1995 have been improved and working capital has been reduced by around 3m pounds, helping Riva into a cash-generative position. The company continues to expand into the general retail market with its Windows-based software, riding on the wave of interest in customer loyalty applications for point-of-sale data. In common with last year, the board have not proposed a dividend.