Acquisitions boost revenue and profits for GB Group
IDENTITY data intelligence specialist GB Group has reported soaring revenue to £57.3m – ahead of market expectations – in its final results.
The Chester-headquartered company’s turnover is up 37% (2014: £41.8m) for the year ending March 31, with pre-tax profits after exceptional costs up 49% £5.9m (2014: 4m).
The strong balance sheet and strong cash generation resulted in cash balances of £15.8m (2014: £11.8m) after a dividend payment of £2m and an acquisition investing spend of £18.7m.
This enabled a progressive 12% increase to the proposed dividend for 2015 to 1.85p (2014: 1.65 p).
The successful acquisition of DecTech and CDMS Ltd into the group during the year and the company’s selection by the UK Government as an identity assurance provider on the new GOV.UK Verify service were key to its success.
Notable client wins for the year include disruptive banking and payments providers Stripe and Holvi; retailers Waitrose and John Lewis; and the Serious Fraud Office.
Chief executive Richard Law said: “The group has had a successful year and I expect this positive trend to continue.
“I am very pleased with the strong performance to the start of the new financial year which has included the important acquisition of Loqate Inc. in April 2015, extending GBG’s suite of solutions and geographic reach.
“As we look to 2016 and beyond, I am confident that we have the right vision, and strategy and most importantly the right team in place to deliver our key objective of continued profitable growth.”
