Despite seeing a 33pc growth in revenue from US$5.5m last year to US$7.4m in the first quarter, Irish e-commerce firm Trintech reported a net loss of US$1.4m for the quarter.
The company reported a gross profit of US$4.8m, representing 66pc of revenue, compared with US$4.1m and 75pc in the first quarter last year.
During the quarter Trintech said it increased expenditure in research and development from US$1.1m to US$1.3m due to costs associated with its targeting of the healthcare sector.
Sales and marketing expenditure also increased in the first quarter from US$1.6m last year to US$2.5m.
“Trintech’s Q1 results remained on track as we transition the business to a software and transaction services business model,” said CEO Cyril McGuire.
“Our growth in Q1 was fuelled by our continued investment in new innovative products and new growth markets as we expand the breadth of our product and services especially in the financial services and healthcare markets. Our primary management goal is to deliver a profitable EBITDA growth performance in the second half of fiscal 2008.”
Highlights during the quarter included high-profile deals in the US with large firms like Hess Corporation, Snyder’s Drug Stores and Forever21 and a partnership agreement with Prodiance Corporation.
Trintech said it achieved revenues of US$3.5m for software licences and US$3.9m for services, increases of 8pc and 69pc respectively.
“We continue to deliver revenue growth and expand our customer base as a result of the significant investments being made in increasing our sales force and investing in marketing campaigns to generate demand for our products and services,” said Paul Byrne, president of Trintech.
“We expect to continue investing in expanding our sales and marketing capability to drive future revenue growth. The integration of the recent healthcare acquisition is on plan and we continue to seek further acquisition opportunities to accelerate growth,” Byrne said.
By John Kennedy
