Financial services firms like Citigroup (NYSE:C), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MWD) want to offer just about everything. To do this requires huge investments in Information Technologies (IT). That's good news for enterprise software companies that focus on the financial services industry, such as Advent Software (NASDAQ:ADVS) and SunGard (NYSE:SDS).
Another leader is SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ:SSNC). Realizing that customers want various solutions, SS&C has been aggressively buying other companies -- 14 since 1995. Yesterday, the company announced its third-quarter results. Revenues came in at $25.2 million, which was a 57% increase from the same period a year ago. Net income increased 59% to $4.8 million.
True, the growth was not all organic; acquisitions did provide a boost. Yet, the company is building recurring revenues. In the past quarter, about 72% of revenues were recurring. No doubt, this provides much more visibility going forward.
Because of a recent secondary offering, SS&C has a solid balance sheet, with about $121 million in the bank. Also, for this year, the company generated $19.4 million in cash flow from operating activities.
Compared to its peers, SS&C is a small company. However, the company is finding growth in the hedge fund segment with its broad array of products like Advisorware, Total Return, Debt & Derivatives, and Antares. Hedge funds can be exceedingly complex to manage -- which, of course, is an opportunity for software providers. And, with the SEC's recent postures to regulate the industry, things will only get more complex.
Fool contributor Tom Taulli does not own any of the shares mentioned in this article.
