Autonomy ditches auditor Andersen

AUTONOMY has parted company with auditor Andersen in the wake of the Enron scandal, and has signed up with Ernst & Young's Cambridge office. The infrastructure software group is the second quoted British concern to drop Andersen in recent weeks, joining fund manager Amvescap which also switched to Ernst & Young.

Autonomy chief financial officer Sushovan Hussein said the Cambridge-based group filed the change with the US authorities on Wednesday, but had decided on the break in February after the three partners in Andersen's Cambridge office quit to join Deloitte. Mayflower and Wireless Group have also left Andersen.

The change of auditors will benefit Nasdaq-quoted Autonomy's image in the US, where the group's recent blue-chip contract signings include AT&T, Philip Morris and the US Navy.

The shares rose 16p to 340p as founder and chief executive Mike Lynch reported encouraging sales and profits in the traditionally-weak first quarter. Earnings per share rose by two cents to three cents from the same time last year and the final quarter of 2001, on pre-tax profits that at $4.2m (£3m) were less than half last time's but $1.5m better than in the final quarter.

Sales, at $14.1m, were only slightly down on the same time last year and marginally ahead of the final quarter with a 'slow, but steady' market recovery under way.

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