Autonomy earnings beat forecasts

Autonomy might soon be promoted to the FTSE 100 index

The UK-based software maker Autonomy Corporation has reported third-quarter pre-tax profit of $9.2m on revenues of $17.6m.

The results, which came in substantially higher than analyst forecasts, were the first since the Cambridge-based firm listed on the London Stock Exchange two weeks ago and might help propel it into the elite FTSE 100 index.

Shares in Autonomy - a maker of "intelligent" software allowing computers to understand human prose - rose strongly in early trade but settled back to 3385 pence by 1112 GMT, up 24p or 0.7% on the day.

"Autonomy continues to aggressively execute its strategy of providing a platform for automating operations on any form of unstructured data and will do this both organically, such as our planned expansion in Asia, and through selective acquisitions," chief executive Mike Lynch said.

During the quarter, the firm signed agreements to provide its software to several blue-chip clients including Ford Motor Company, BP, AstraZeneca, KPMG, France Telecom and the World Bank, Mr Lynch said.

First ever profit

Autonomy had reported its first ever profit, of $440,000, in the first quarter of this year, increasing this to $5.1m in the second quarter.

Before listing on the LSE, Autonomy was traded on the Nasdaq and Easdaq markets.

Analysts said its strong performance since listing in London made it a good candidate for promotion next month to the FTSE 100 index of leading shares.

Fellow tech firms Baltimore Technologies and Bookham Technology are among those at risk of dropping out.

Based on a share price of 3385p, Autonomy has a market valuation of £4.3bn.