Gb Group Regulatory News (GBG)

12 Feb 2008 07:00

GB Group PLC12 February 2008 Embargoed until 07.00 12 February 2008 GB GROUP PLC ("GB" or the "Group" or "GB Group") INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT GB Group Plc, the identity specialists, announces its Interim Management Statement for the period to 12 February 2008. Overview At the time of the interim results in November 2007, it was indicated that theGroup expected to trade profitably for the remainder of its financial year to 31March 2008. The Board is pleased to report that the Group moved intoprofitability as anticipated. The highlights for the quarter ended 31 December 2007 were as follows: • Group revenues increased by 45% compared to the same period last year to £4.8 million (2006: £3.3 million). • Revenues from GB's identity verification business, DataAuthentication, doubled to £2.0 million (2006: £1.0 million) compared to the same period last year. • DataIntegrity and DataSolutions, providers of identity based marketing services, generated revenues of £2.8 million (2006: £2.2 million), an increase of 27% compared to the same period last year. • Group revenues increased strongly during October and November and, with the overhead base substantially fixed for the second half of the year, the Group became profitable in November. • Revenues continued to grow in December, traditionally one of GB's strongest months, with a significant proportion of the additional revenue falling to profits. The Group generated profits before taxation in December of approximately £229,000 compared to a loss of approximately £32,000 for the same period last year. • Group profits before taxation for the quarter to 31 December 2007 were £74,000 (2006: £300,000 loss). As a result of the move into profitability, the losses for the nine months to 31December 2007 reduced to £0.9 million (2006: £1.2 million). Current Trading The Group has continued to trade profitability in the final quarter of thefinancial year. Accordingly, Group revenues and profitability in January 2008were materially ahead of January 2007. Cash balances were £3.7 million at 31 January 2008 (27 November 2007: £3.6million). Outlook The Board is pleased that following a period of significant investment in newonline products and services, the Group has moved into profitability and believethat this represents an important milestone for the business. The Board is confident about the Group's prospects. Commenting on the announcement, Richard Law, CEO, said: "The Group has continued to move towards the online delivery of its solutions,all of which address the issues increasingly faced by businesses in relation tothe identity of their customers, in particular identity fraud. GB is now a moreefficient business with scaleable operations delivering growth in all areas." -Ends- GB Group plc 01244 657333Richard Law, Chief ExecutiveMona Navin-Mealey, Finance Director Weber Shandwick FinancialIan Bailey 020 7067 0700Rachel MartinHannah Marwood Website www.gb.co.uk Notes to Editors About GB Group plc GB believes that identity matters. Specialising in understanding consumeridentity, GB enables its clients to make more informed business decisions and tocommunicate and interact more effectively with its customers through a deeperunderstanding of their identity and behaviour. Utilising its proprietarytechnology, GB can protect, predict and provide information that is used tomaximise customer value for some of the UK's largest organisations. GB offers solutions that assist organisations to capitalise on the value oftheir customers at every point of contact. GB has three complementary offerings: •Identity Capture and Maintenance (DataIntegrity) - providing accurate contact information •Identity Verification (DataAuthentication) - combating identity fraud, money laundering and under-age gambling •Identity Analysis (DataSolutions) - understanding, targeting and retaining profitable customers GB is listed on the London Stock Exchange (GBG). For more information, pleasevisit GB Group's website: www.gb.co.uk. GB Group - because identity matters(TM). This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange