Profit fell sharply last year at financial services software group Corvil.

Revenue jumped 11.5per cent to €19.4 million, according to figures just filed with the Companies Office. However, a 30 per cent surge in costs meant that pretax profit fell from €2.4 million in 2011 to €919,294 last year.

Corvil said budgetary pressures within its core customer group held back revenue growth in the year, “while profitability was challenged by tightening margins and a growing cost base to fund penetration of new markets”.

That included an advance into Japan where the company opened an office in Tokyo last year.

The company’s goods are used by banks, exchanges, market makers and service providers to streamline operations for investors and operators. Among its major customers are Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Nomura, Commerzbank, the Nasdaq , Tokyo and New York stock exchanges and Deutsche Börse.

In its directors’ statement, Corvil said continued growth in 2013 would require a more diversified industry approach and an ability to quickly penetrate markets outside its core operating area.