Craneware, the fast-growing Scottish healthcare IT company, yesterday said it had enjoyed solid growth throughout its first half and that its forthcoming financial results would be in line with management expectations.

Craneware, the fast-growing Scottish healthcare IT company, yesterday said it had enjoyed solid growth throughout its first half and that its forthcoming financial results would be in line with management expectations.

Shares in the firm, which is based in Livingston, West Lothian, and specialises in billing and auditing software for the US healthcare industry, climbed 2.3%, or 5p, to 221p on the strength of its upbeat trading statement.

Craneware, which also signed a "significant" new contract for a 21-facility hospital system in New York state during the last days of its first half, said it expected revenue growth of 20%.

Craneware also said the total value of new contracts signed during the period had increased by more than 50% from the same period the year before, and that it had benefited from the stronger dollar and increased investment in product management and marketing.

The company's Charge- master Toolkit software, designed to reduce mis-charging in the outpatient market, is now used in around 1000 hospitals in 48 states in the US, where medical bills are extremely detailed. Craneware also sells into healthcare centres throughout the US.

The firm's market exists because some 80% of bills generated by US hospitals and health centres are believed to be mishandled.

The US legislative land- scape is also moving in Craneware's favour. Medi-care and Medicaid last year announced new measures requiring every US state to have a recovery audit contractor in place by 2010, who will have the power to audit hospital claims for errors back to October 2007, making Craneware's software an increasingly attractive prospect.

Meanwhile, the company, which employs the bulk of its 100-plus staff in Livingston and was founded in 1999 by Keith Neilson and Gordon Craig, has also recently launched the first offerings in two new product families - Patient Charge Estimator and Pharmacy ChargeLink.

Neilson said: "Despite the challenges faced by the wider economic environ- ment we believe the com-pelling and demonstrable ROI (Return on Invest-ment) of our financial improvement software solutions, including our new product families, will result in hospitals continu-ing to turn to Craneware to help mitigate the general financial malaise and manage growing legislative pressures."

Craneware is scheduled to announce its interim results on February 24.