The world’s largest CAM software specialist saw strong demand in aeronautics, automotive, and health care.
UK-based CAD/CAM software developer Delcam announced record annual revenue of £41.9 million ($66.5 million) and record profits of £3.73 million ($5.9 million) for 2011, up 55% from 2010. Sales increased by 14% over the previous record set in 2010. The Birmingham company says it experienced growth in most geographic regions, and cites further recovery in global manufacturing spurring demand for both new software licenses and maintenance contracts.
Sales for the second half of the year reached a new high for the fourth half-year period in a row. (Public companies in the UK report half-year results, not quarterly results as in the US.) Delcam says improved performance was evident in traditional markets, in particular automotive and aerospace, as well as in its newer healthcare business.
While the largest increase was in software license sales, maintenance revenues derived from software maintenance and support contracts grew to £13.1 million ($20.8 million), up from £11.7 million ($18.6 million) in the previous year. Maintenance revenues accounted for 31% of sales in 2011.
Delcam says the strongest overall sales continued to come from the US and Germany. The fastest increase in sales of new software licenses came from Asia, especially India, Indonesia, Korea, and direct sales in China. Delcam says 28 of its resellers achieved sales increases of more than 20%.
At the beginning of 2011 Delcam merged its Professional Services Group and Tooling Services Division into a new group called Delcam Professional Services. The company says demand for its process development and prototype manufacturing services continues to grow, and it is continuing to invest for growth in services.
The company invested £10.7 million ($17 million) on research and development in 2011, an increase from the £9.6 million ($15.2 million) invested in 2010.
During 2011 Delcam released at least one new version of every software product it develops. Other business highlights of 2011 include:
- Winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for the sixth time;
- An announcement by CIMdata that Delcam had retained its position as the world’s leading specialist supplier of CAM software and services;
- Acquiring a minority stake in a new German software house, Fabbify Software GmbH, an additive manufacturing (3D printing) specialist;
- The opening of a new sales office in Chengdu, China.
In a statement accompanying release of its results, Delcam says it believes 2012 should see continued investments in capital equipment and associated software in its key automotive and aerospace markets.
