Telework sees shares rise on results upturn

Shares in UK telephony and workforce management software specialist Telework leaped as the company announced its first interim results following its August flotation.

Telework's first-half turnover was up 26 per cent to £10.4m and pre-tax profits rose 93 per cent to £2.76m on the same period last year. Its share price rose from around £130 to nearly £152 following the announcement. In its results statement, the company said:"There has been a marked upturn in sales activity and prospective order pipeline." Telework listed on the London Stock Exchange on 3 August, raising £16.8m to finance acquisitions and develop products including its application service provider infrastructure. Based in Milton Keynes, the company has two divisions - Workplace, which specialises in workforce management applications, and TeleWare, which develops software for computer telephony, unified messaging and interactive voice response. Customers include Abbey National, American Express, British Airways, Cable & Wireless, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, Lloyds TSB, Motorola, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Reuters and Vodafone. By Candice Goodwin