NCC Group profits hit by exceptional costs
IT security specialist NCC Group has seen impressive turnover growth over the last year – up 56% to £209.1m (2015: £133.7m) but exceptional items meant profits were affected.
Profits were down 56% to £9.4m for the year to the end of May 2016 (2015: £21.4m). The company said this was because, particularly following the acquisition of Fox-IT, product and tool development have become such integral parts of the group, the impact of amortisation and depreciation has a material effect on financial statements.
The listed Manchester company’s adjusted pre-tax profit figure, after stripping these costs out, was £ 37m (2015: £25.4m).
The total dividend for the year was up 17% to 4.65p a share, from 3.98p.
Rob Cotton, chief executive, said it had been a year of notable progress for the business, having fully integrated Accumuli and acquired Fox-IT.
He added: “The threat intelligence capabilities that Fox-IT brings to the group are proving to be a key point of differentiation. We look forward with increasing confidence as we roll out its services to customers across the group.”
Cotton called the “cybercrime arms race” the single biggest threat to corporates and individuals globally and said that regardless of how negotiations develop with the EU, if the UK wants to trade with the EU on equal terms, UK data protection standards will have to be equivalent to the EU’s.
He added that all listed companies should have a board-led cyber security committee and as such said NCC would be the first to do so.
Looking ahead, the group has forecast contracted recurring revenue and current order book up 67% to £104.6m (2015:£62.7m).
