Cinnober Financial Technology AB (Cinnober), the Sweden-based public company operating since 1998 and with 250 staff supporting its diverse business line that caters to international stock exchanges, clearing houses, banks and brokerages, today reported its first quarter (Q1) 2016 financials, according to a Q1 interim report from the company.

For the three months ending March 31^st 2016, Cinnober had net sales of 76.3 million Swedish krona (SEK) or roughly $9.63 million, up from the 68 million SEK reported a year ago, and with operating profit amounting to 1.1 million SEK for the first quarter of 2016.

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Profit before tax dips

The company’s profit before tax during Q1 amounted to 500,000 SEK, lower from the 900,000 reported during Q1 2015, or year-over-year, while earnings per share (EPS) amounted to 0.06 SEK on an undiluted basis, 50% higher from SEK 4 cents per share, according to the update.

Below is an excerpt from the accompanying file that was attached to the company’s press release, showing key highlights for Cinnober over the last five years.

New deals to help growth

Cinnober struck a deal with a Japan Exchange Group for real-time clearing of the Japanese derivatives market, and said that at the end of the reported period (i.e. Q2) it had already signed another contract with JPX with regard to risk calculations for all the asset classes that JPX offers across its exchanges in the Japanese financial markets and to help the exchange operator with its ‘Grand Design’ project.

Commenting in the company’s press release regarding the results, Veronica Augustsson, CEO, said: “Cinnober is growing and the optimism in the market is tangible.”

“The finance sector is on the verge of higher IT investments, which are being stimulated by extended regulations and higher efficiency requirements. The positive signals are reflected in net sales for the period reaching SEK 76.3 million, an increase of SEK 8.3 million compared with the corresponding quarter in 2015. The sales growth is due to a higher influx of customers and that we are currently carrying out major projects for some of the world’s largest exchanges,” she added.

The company added that other major clearing projects include with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa and the Brazilian BM&FBOVESPA, as well as trading-related projects with the Australian Securities Exchange in Sydney.

Shares of Cinnober, traded on Nasdaq OMX First North (Nordic Listing) under ticker symbol CINN, were down nearly 2% around the time of publication.