We tipped Bond International Software as a strong buy at 70.5p in September, after the recruiting software play unveiled emphatic half time numbers to the end of June. Happily, shares in the company, bossed by chief executive Steve Russell, have sparked higher on a bullish trading update for 2004. Russell says trading has exceeded expectations and pre-tax profit (post-goodwill) for the year to December 2004 will top £1.8m. Alan Matthews, analyst at house broker Seymour Pierce, had already upgraded his pre-goodwill profit forecast from £1.4m to £1.7m on the strength of those interims, and has now upgraded again to £2.1m, giving earnings of 6.2p. Those half time numbers showed the company in full swing, as sales romped 26% higher to £4.2m, sending pre-tax profits 359% skywards to £711,000. Sales rose across the board in the UK and Europe, North America, Australia and Asia. Organic revenue growth was good, with sales of the market leading Adapt software surging 16% to £3.8m. March acquisition EZaccess, a competitor that strengthened the group's customer base in Europe and built up recurring revenues, contributed the rest. On Matthews' estimates for 2004, Bond trades on a forward rating of only 16.1 times earnings, well below the sector average p/e of 30. With upgrades to 2005 forecasts more than likely, we reiterate our strong buy stance.