NCC Group said the threat of hackers was leading more and more companies to seek help to test their networks to identify weaknesses, while its escrow division was seeing big demand for its services to copy software programme codes to protect clients if a supplier goes bust.
The company, based on Oxford Road, Manchester, posted record annual sales and profits and said its orders and contract renewals stood at £26.9m.
Pre-tax profits for the year to May 31 surged 29 per cent from £8.1m to £10.5m. Revenues rocketed 41 per cent from £25.4m to £35.7m, boosted by two acquisitions. Like-for-like sales rose 17 per cent.
A final dividend of 4.75p makes a total of 7p for the year, up 47 per cent. Analyst David O'Brien, of broker Altium Securities, said the results were ahead of expectations. He said they underlined the resilience of NCC Group's business model to a faltering economy.
Meanwhile, Dresdner Kleinwort is forecasting profits of £12.7m for this year on sales of £42.9m.
Despite the rosy outlook, the shares slipped 1.5p, or 0.38 per cent, to 396p, valuing the business at £137m. They were priced at 170p when NCC Group floated in July 2004. Mr Cotton said: "Despite the current economic climate, we have continued to maintain our growth momentum.
"We are confident that we are well insulated against any downturn, given the range of our business-critical products and services."
He said NCC Group, which employs 334 staff, would continue to seek acquisitions and could spend between £30m and £50m this year on takeovers.
He said he expected demand for escrow security to increase. The threat of IT fraud is escalating as the economy deteriorates, while data loss scandals and the recent hacking of retailer Cotton Traders' website highlighted the need for improved security, he added.
During last year, the firm's 'ethical hackers' uncovered a potentially disastrous lapse on a currency exchange website, where hackers could alter the exchange rates at will.
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