HI-TECH Congleton company JSB Software Technologies has performed better than expected despite turning in pre-tax losses of £373,000.

The losses for the six months to November 30 were set against anticipated losses of £650,000, and were linked to the drive for growth of JSB's SurfCONTROL software products.

JSB chairman George Hayter said 1999 was vitally important as the company worked to build up SurfCONTROL's position in the USA.

"Market share and brand awareness for SurfCONTROL is key, and we will be continuing to invest for growth in the second half of the year,'' he said.

Turnover for the first half of the year was £1.76 million, with sales in the SurfCONTROL division up 54 per cent to £77,000, and 26 sales and marketing partners having been signed up.

JSB chief executive Rob Barrow said the company moved into a loss-making position once it began investing in capitalising on the opportunities available for SurfCONTROL.

''The current year is important in as we put our strategy in place to enable SurfCONTROL to build towards a market-leading position,'' he said.

''It is important to build market share and brand awareness, which must take precedence in the short term over maximising profit to achieve our growth objectives.''

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