Software group Iona Technologies saw its third-quarter profit more than double after sales of its Artix and Corba products increased.

Net income jumped to $438,000 (€365,000) in the three months to the end of September, from $209,000 in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue in the same period rose 5.7 per cent to $17.4 million.

Net income per share was 1 cent, unchanged from the year-earlier period.

The shares added 21 cents, equal to almost 8.9 per cent of the company's value, to end the day at €2.56.

"Iona performed well in the third quarter," said Peter Zotto, the group's chief executive who took over the position in April.

"We achieved continued sequential growth in our Artix business and generated a solid performance for our Corba business."

The third-quarter figures come after a slight dip in performance in the second quarter, when the group posted a net loss and a drop in revenue after delays in the production of its Corba product.

Corba, which helps firms to integrate different software systems, has traditionally been the group's core software product.

However, Iona is hoping that its new suite of software products called Artix will take over as its core integration solution system in the future.

Revenue in the nine months to the end of September was $47.7 million, down 1.7 per cent on the year-earlier period.

This translates into a net loss in the nine-month period of $1.8 million, compared with a loss of $1.5 million a year earlier.

Iona, which provides and develops IT integration solutions, said it expects revenue for the fourth quarter to be between $17 and $18 million.

This compares with revenue of $19.5 in the fourth quarter of 2004.

It ended the third quarter with $50 million in cash.

Releasing its third-quarter results yesterday, Iona also announced the appointment of Robert McBride as interim chief financial officer.