Axon Group H1 adjusted operating profit up 23 pct

(Reuters) - Consultancy Axon Group AXO.L on Tuesday reported a 23 percent rise in first-half adjusted operating profit on increased sales and said it sees the strong performance continuing into the second half.

The company, which is the subject of a recommended $753 million (409 million pound) takeover from India's Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO), reported an adjusted operating profit of 20.2 million pounds, up from 16.5 million.

Revenue rose to 123.9 million pounds from 96.7 million a year ago.

Axon, which Infosys plans to delist once the takeover is complete, declared an interim dividend of 2.25 pence a share compared with 2 pence year ago.

The company, which provides services to companies using SAP business software, said it has seen some first signs of market softening as competitors price more aggressively, but has a strong order book and sees higher second half sales.

(Reporting by Ramkumar in Bangalore; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)