Strong first half earnings growth for NCC Group

IT security business NCC Group has recorded strong first half figures and is confident of future growth as it prepares to launch services based on a new “top level” domain name.
In the six months to the end of November revenue increased by 12% to £54m while pre-tax profits jumped 48% from £7.5m to £11.1m.
The Manchester firm’s escrow division provides software insurance services, allowing companies to protect against the collapse of a software developer by holding vital information, such as the software source codes. It also operates an assurance business which protects IT systems from hackers.
It saw strong revenue growth in the assurance arm of 15%, following the full integration of US acquisition Matasano, and escrow jumped by 7%, ahead of 3% last year. International sales continued to increase and now account for 39% of group revenue, up from 35%.
For some time now NCC has been working on a new division called Artemis based on the .secure domain name and previously said it had signed up internet giants and major social networks.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the non-profit which administers domain names, is currently issuing 1,800 new domains to increase capacity. NCC is up against Amazon for .secure and an auction is expected to take place in September, but NCC is not pinning everything on that name and is looking at acquiring another, undisclosed name, that will allow it to launch in the summer.
Chief executive Rob Cotton said: “We have seen one of the strongest first half performances for a number of years across the group, which has resulted in double digit organic growth. Assurance was particularly strong, reflecting the rapidly growing international cyber security markets, whilst our international revenues continue to make a larger contribution overall.
“We are becoming increasingly confident about Artemis, our project to develop a secure domain environment by operating a generic top level domain (GTLD) owned by the group. The feedback from testing customers has been very positive.
“With orders and renewals up 11% to £51.4m and an exclusive agreement to acquire a GTLD – which will enable the Artemis service to be available from the start of the next financial year – we are confident of maintaining this strong level of organic growth.”