Macroeconomic uncertainty and tightening budgets have piled pressure on organisations to control their outflows and manage their suppliers more efficiently. Strong demand for electronic procurement and spend-control software drove adjusted cash profit at Proactis (PHD) up 4 per cent to £2.4m in the first half of its 2016 financial year. But a sharp slowdown in revenue growth prompted investors to send its shares down 8 per cent.
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Proactis inked 23 contracts with an initial value of £3.7m in the period. More importantly, 14 of those were multi-year subscription or managed services deals, meaning the order book swelled by a fifth to about £24m. However, management's focus on longer-term contracts meant sacrificing short-term sales growth.