LONDON -- The shares of Quindell Portfolio (WTG) have risen 1.3% as of 9:20 a.m. EDT after the company announced a "major U.K. contract win." The AIM-quoted firm said it had agreed a five-year deal to supply its ICE Challenger administration software to a top-10 U.K. motor insurer.
Quindell said the contract followed a competitive tender and included "extensive evaluation and proof of concept." The company also claimed the initial license would cost the unnamed customer £3.5 million, with "multi-million pound" service revenues expected thereafter.
Robert Thomas, chief executive of Quindell's software and consultancy solutions division, said: "This contract for all of our technology components with such a large U.K. insurer validates our strategy. We are delighted to have the insurer as a customer and look forward to a successful implementation, providing them with the platform for the successful development of their business."
This morning's contract announcement is the fifth issued by Quindell since the start of April, and it comes less than a month after the company published its 2012 results and refuted accounting allegations made by "active shorters." Those results showed acquisitions helping underlying profit surge 680% to £49 million, while the allegations concerned the size and structure of the group's debtor ledger.
The market's mixed feelings toward Quindell currently leave the shares trading at less than seven times trailing earnings. Of course, whether that lowly multiple, today's contract win, and the wider prospects of the insurance sector all combine to make Quindell a buy is something only you can decide. For what it's worth, Quindell's directors spent £110,000 buying extra shares last week.
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