Autonomy picks up after stumble

Autonomy shares are recovering this morning after an initial ten per cent slump when it admitted a trebled turnover but profits had not increased at the same rate in the last twelve months.

The company's share price dropped from £15.50 to £14.20 in the first hour of trading today on the LSE, but had climbed back to £15.63 shortly before noon. Revenue in the fourth quarter trebled from the comparable period the previous year, at $21.5m, but diluted earnings per share remained at 4 cents, the same as the third quarter. The knowledge management software company boosted its blue chip client list in the fourth quarter with the addition of ABN Amro, Royal Sun, Hill & Knowlton, Qwest Communications, Nestle UK, and the US Department of Energy. Figures for the year were revenue of $65.4m and adjusted net income of $13.3m. The company has cash reserves of $137m.