Micro Equities lifts ISS FY12 forecast

Microcap stock advisor Micro Equities has raised its FY12 and FY13 profit forecast for industrial software developer ISS Group (ASX:ISS), after the company posted strong 1H results.

Micro Equities is now expecting ISS Group to report an FY12 profit of $2.8 million, up from its prior forecast of $2.3 million.

The FY13 forecast was upgraded from $3.5 million to $4 million, and the projected FY12 dividend was lifted to 1.4 cents from 1.5 cents.

ISS recently reported a 252 per cent increase in 1H12 post-tax profit to $2.7 million, from 15 per cent higher net revenue of $11.6 million. Micro Equities had been expecting 1H12 profit of just $2.3 million.

The company last week also revealed multiple contract wins, including deals to provide support software to a BP LNG plant in Indonesia, mining outfit Panoramic Resources and US-based energy company Hess Corporation.

Micro Equities has a “strong buy” recommendation on ISS shares, and has upgraded its target for the stock to $0.27 from $0.24.

ISS shares were trading at $0.190 on Monday, before the forecast, and closed out Tuesday's trading up 5.26 per cent to $0.200.