Growth slows for education technology firm Promethean World

Classroom whiteboards maker Promethean World said third-quarter revenue growth rate slowed due to tighter education budgets in the United States, and expected the uncertainty to continue in the near term, sending its shares down 6%.

However, the interactive education technology firm, which gets two-thirds of its revenue from the United States, said it was confident of delivering full-year results in line with the market view, aided in part by cost controls.

It was also confident of sustaining strong revenue growth for the fourth quarter and 2011.

The company, which supplies interactive white boards and learning software to schools, also received a multi-million euro tender from Agenzia Nazionale per lo Sviluppo e l'Autonomia Scolastica, the government body responsible for supporting Italian schools.

Promethean World will supply and install 8,000 interactive whiteboard systems in about 4,000 of Italy's first grade secondary schools.

For the third quarter, the company reported revenue of £71.3 million, up 12%, while revenue for the nine-month period was up 25%.

Promethean World, whose biggest competitor is Canada-based Smart Technologies, said third-quarter underlying operating profit was broadly in line with that generated in the first half of the year.

The company's shares, which have shed 30% in value after it bought US education software firm SynapticMash Inc on July 21, were down 6% at 109.5 pence in early trading on the London Stock Exchange.