Specialist software business Absoft has strengthened its foothold in the oil and gas sector after its dedicated new energy team secured a significant rise in revenue and broke into key markets.
Absoft, which supplies SAP software consultancy and related services, last year created a team focused solely on its core oil and gas activities as part of its long-term growth strategy.
The new oil and gas division of the Aberdeen-based company saw revenue increase by 9% to approximately £3.5million in 2008/09 and secured six new customers. It also expanded its traditional UK market into Norway and the United States.
Division head Don Valentine said: “We had already established ourselves over the years as a provider of expert products and services to many of the key industry players, and the move to create a core team of sector-specific specialists last year was a logical next step.
“We set ourselves some fairly conservative objectives for the first year, given the prevailing economic conditions, and we’re pleased that our performance has exceeded our own expectations.
“We’re getting very positive feedback from clients on our enhanced offering. As budgets tighten, companies increasingly look to IT as a means of driving costs down and that is where we come into our own.”
Absoft’s growth strategy is focused upon consolidating its presence in the operating community, and continuing to expand its footprint in service and drilling firms, marine companies and oilfield manufacturing.
Absoft as a whole recorded a record turnover of over £5.4million for 2008/09 and record pre-tax profits of approximately £500,000.
It secured nine new customers over the year in total as it pursued a strategy of building activity in its traditional oil and gas market while also developing other key sectors, particularly higher education and manufacturing.