GB Group's international expansion fuels double-digit profit growth

GB Group upped its annual dividend on Wednesday as it reported a jump in both annual profits and revenues after strengthening its international footprint.

The global identity data intelligence specialist reported a profit before tax of £14.7m for the year ended 31 March, for an increase of 10% compared to the year before, after revenue jumped by 20% to £143.5m with international revenues rising from 34% to 45% of total revenue.

Consequently, GB Group increased its final dividend per share by 13% to 2.99p.

The AIM traded company's Loqate solution scored North American contract wins from major companies including Kohls, eBay and Sephora, while key wins in Asia Pacific included wins from FarFetch and a contract for its fraud solution from the Chinese Bank of Communication.

Chris Clark, chief executive of GB, said: "We remain committed to developing world class products and making the most of the significant market opportunities ahead. As a global business, with a well-defined strategy, we are confident in our future growth and our ambition to become the leading provider of identity data intelligence solutions."

In a statement, the company added that the current year's trading is in line with expectations as the company targets significant long-term growth opportunities across each of its target markets.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Shares in online identification and cybersecurity expert GB Group are trading very close to their all-time highs after today’s full-year results, which confirm the positive impression created by April’s upbeat trading statement, when sales and profits came in higher than expected and net debt lower than analysts had forecast."

GB Group's shares were up 0.54% at 607.25p at 1231 BST.