Shares of Huddersfield-based SimplyBiz, a provider of compliance and business services to financial advisers and institutions, rose 7% on Tuesday after it published results for the six months ended June 30 showing revenue flat at £28.9 million but a pretax profit that rose to £4.4 million from £2.7 million a year earlier.

In its outlook, SimplyBiz said: “Trading has continued in line with the board’s expectation since the end of the period.

“The board remains confident of the company’s strong trading and cash generation and continues to expect that 2020 full year adjusted earnings per share shall be no less than 11.0p (2019 FY: 13.0p).”

SimplyBiz Joint CEO Matt Timmins said: “We are delighted to report strong and resilient trading for H1 2020, demonstrating the robust nature of our business.

“We benefitted from an improving quality of our underlying earnings, under-pinned by six full months trading from Defaqto which helped offset a significant reduction in valuation income during the period.

“The quality of our revenues, the resilience of our customers, and the benefits of a stronger digital delivery platform have enabled strong trading during challenging times.

“We have responded quickly and decisively to deliver growth in key strategic areas, whilst improving the quality of our underlying earnings.

“We have accelerated our digital strategy.

“This data led, digital delivery, will further improve our quality of earnings, margins and cash generation going forward, whilst also improving customer service.”