Worthing-based software firm Bond International reported a 56 per cent rise in profits for the six months to June 30.

The company, which provides software for the international recruitment, personnel and tourism industries, also has operations in the U.S. and Australia.

The company said trading profits were £544,000, up from £348,000 for the same period last year. Turnover was in excess of £4.5 million.

Chairman Martin Baldwin said the company has a good start to 2000 following an exceptionally difficult second half of 1999.

In particular, an out-of-court settlement in an unfair dismissal claim brought by a former employee of the group in the U.S had cost the company dear - £331,000 with associated expenses.

Mr Baldwin said: "Without it, group earnings and earnings per share would have been usefully ahead of the same period the previous year."

Bond won major new contracts for its market leading Adapt software from Manpower and tempz.com.

This week it also announced a worldwide contract to provide Kelly Services with Adapt Software, which alone is valued at more than £2 million.

Managing director Tim Richards described it as one of the most exciting and challenging briefs the company had ever worked on because of the diverse technical requirements and the sheer scale of the project.

Chief executive Steve Russell said: "With clients' Y2K concerns behind us, trading conditions in all the group's main markets have improved compared to the second half of 1999."

Bond's recruitment software, Adapt, is used by 18,000 firms in 32 countries.

The company has also launched a new product called Essential, which is a version of Adapt suitable for smaller recruitment businesses, an area of the market that it had not previously addressed.

Importantly, Essential is upgradeable to Adapt when growth necessitates.