OXFORD, U.K.--Computer-aided molecular design software vendor Oxford Molecular here announced March 31 that after five unprofitable years, in 1997 it achieved an overall pretax profit of £256,000 for the year. CEO Tony Marchington attributed increased sales to successful cheminformatics and bioinformatics businesses where Oxford's Omiga and RS3 products benefitted from strong customer demand. Oxford's June 1997 acquisition of two profitable firms, Genetics Computer Group and MLR Automation, further strengthened performance, Marchington said.
Oxford's sales revenue--more than half of which originated in the US--was £15.6 million for the year, a 60 percent increase over 1996.