Newry technology firm First Derivatives' profits fall by 38%

The company provides software and services to investment banks and other financial institutions

First Derivatives, the Newry-based technology firm, made a pre-tax profit of £11m in 2021, down 38% on its £18m profit in 2020.

Turnover was largely unchanged at £238m.

The company mainly provides software and services to investment banks and other financial institutions.

First Derivatives said some customers delayed buying software and services in the early months of the pandemic in 2020.

This resulted in lower growth rates across the business.

The company has announced a strategic review aimed at doubling annual revenues by 2025.

However, it said the outlook improved towards the end of the financial year and continued into the start of this year with "contract wins across the group and substantially strengthened pipeline".

It expects digital transformation of businesses to accelerate after the pandemic, which it says will open up opportunities.

The company's strategic review will involve significant investment in its KX software products.

The business will also be renamed FD Technologies with a new group structure consisting of the KX software division, First Derivative services and consulting division and the MRP marketing technology division.

Donna Troy, chairman of FD, said: "We have concluded that now is the time for targeted investment that will accelerate our growth and establish KX as a world-leading horizontal technology for real-time streaming analytics.

"We are excited to announce this acceleration of our strategy and look forward to delivering enhanced value for our customers and shareholders."