GB Group boosts profits and heads for Canada
CHESTER-based identity management firm GB Group announced “significantly enhanced” profits for the year to March 31 and a new partnership with a credit information firm in Canada.
The company grew pre-tax profits by 46% to £1.9m (2010: £1.3m) as sales increased by 10% to £24.4m. The firm said profits from its ID verification business, DataAuthentication, grew five-fold to £500,000, while earnings from its DataSolutions ID-based marketing offer climbed 11% to £1.7m.
GB said that cash generation remained strong during the year, and it had finished the period with net cash of £6.2m (£5.7m) despite paying out dividends of £1m during the course of the year.
Chief executive Richard Law said: “These are exciting times for GB and accelerating our growth through earnings enhancing acquisitions, as well as through organic growth, continues to be an objective.
“With a recovering economy and a clear strategy that is delivering results we remain optimistic for the future.”
Its new partnership in Canada with credit information firm TransUnion will allow the pair to provide instant ID verification for UK businesses looking to sell to Canadian citizens.
The system can check against a number of factors including current and recent telephone numbers and addresses, names, ages, passport and national insurance details to verify a buyer’s ID.
Law said: “As cross border trade grows, the ability to authenticate global customers is essential in enabling online business to take place and give consumers access to the full diversity of goods and services available on the web.
“In many cases without proof of ID businesses can’t trade with overseas customers for reasons of fraud, security and legislation. By working with TransUnion, we are now able to offer the highest possible standard of ID verification for every organisation that wishes to engage with Canadian customers, without impeding the customer experience.”
