The growing use of complex software in cars, consumer products and workplaces is great news for SQS (SQS), which roots out glitches and bugs for the likes of UBS and Volkswagen. Together with its focus on large, long-term contracts and selective acquisitions, that drove a 52 per cent increase in adjusted pre-tax profits to €18.8m (£13.6m) last year.
The Cologne-based group delivered a 32 per cent increase in sales of managed services, whereby it handles clients' software and IT testing for one to five years. The division landed several new contracts and extended others, including three in Europe (with two banks and a telco) worth a combined €55m. That widened its margins, swelled the order backlog and sent the group's average revenue per client up by more than a third to €634,000. It also pushed SQS's bank account into the black: in 2013 it had net debt of €2.9m.