We are not experiencing significant cancellations or deferrals of projects, despite the current market uncertainty

Logica statement

Overall pre-tax profits for the year to the end of June hit �155.6m, compared with �97.4m the year before.

And Dr Read, paid an estimated �27.3m last year, predicted further growth to come.

"Logica has started the new financial year in a strong position," he said.

"Under current market conditions the board expects to deliver strong financial performance for the year to June 2002."

Jobs created

The upbeat forecast comes as other telecoms industry suppliers, such as Nortel Networks and Marconi, have stumbled amid the sector downturn.

While Marconi has revealed job cuts totalling 10,000, Logica said its headcount of 11,900 in June had risen by almost a half in a year.

Even excluding staff taken on through acquisitions, Logica's payroll swelled by 1,900 employees since June 2000.

Wednesday's profits statement also indicated that Logica has avoided the kind of order deferrals which have dogged other tech firms, such as Baltimore Technologies.

"We are not experiencing significant cancellations or deferrals of projects in our key territories, despite the current market uncertainty," the statement said.

Recipe for success

The company credited its success to a policy of focusing on applications "critical to [customers'] business success", applied on a global scale.

Text messaging boom has boosted takings

"Our continuing success demonstrates that Logica has a proven strategy... a strategy for all seasons," said the firm, which has developed its own management approach, named Cortex.

The firm has, ironically, also been able to profit from the well-publicised delays to the introduction of third generation (3G) mobile phone services.

While Logica claims to be a leader in software for 3G services, which allow features such as video conferencing to be handled by mobile handsets, the 3G hitches have played to the firm's strengths in SMS.

"The delay in 3G roll-outs... has ensured that messaging continues to play a fundamental role in [existing] networks," Wednesday's profits statement said.

Logica's pre-pay phones business also performed well, buoyed by demand from young customers, and users in emerging markets.

Space unit disappoints

Elsewhere, Logica's energy and utilities operations achieved 54% revenue growth, credited to liberalisation in the market, and Logica's increasing global reach.

The firm's logistics support division proved more vulnerable to the economic slowdown, reporting a lower-than-expected 16% rise in takings.

The company blamed an internal shake-up for a 2% decline in revenue to the firm's UK financial services unit, with a decline in takings from Space operations hitting the profitability of Logica's public sector division.

Top earner

The profits surge represented Logica's eighth successive year of earnings growth under Dr Read's stewardship.

But the results failed to impress the City, where Logica shares ended 19p lower at 738.5p on Wednesday.

Dr Read formerly headed up a Marconi unit and was last week named in a survey by the Guardian newspaper as the UK's highest paid director.

He is also one of a clutch of respected UK executives, including Allan Leighton and new Matalan chief Paul Mason, with links to Asda, where he was a director from 1996-99.