Profits have rocketed 87 per cent at cyber security giant Sophos Group despite a “challenging year”.
The listed firm based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, reported an increase in adjusted operating profit of 87 per cent to $109 million in its results for the year-ended 31st March 2019.
Total group revenue growth was 11 per cent, at $711m, while subscription revenue was up 16 per cent with a base of $1.2 billion.
The firm, which last year swung back to profitability, now has 335,000 total customers, compared with 300,000 in FY18. Its entire portfolio of products protects over 382,000 organisations and over 100 million endusers in 150 countries, across a variety of industries.
It said there had been a rapid transition to ‘next-generation’ products, which now represented 47 per cent of its business.
However cash EBITDA declined by 16 per cent from $199m to $168m as it “continues to invest for growth”.
“We believe the drivers are in place for continued future revenue growth, principally driven by growth in our subscription business, especially in our next-generation products,” Sophos stated.
CEO Kris Hagerman commented: “Despite the challenges we faced in FY19, we are pleased with the strategic progress we made during the year.
“The demand environment for cyber security solutions continues to be robust, and we are confident that we are well positioned competitively, especially as more organisations move to adopt next-generation cyber security offerings.
“Increasingly, organisations of all sizes are looking for cloud-native solutions, centralised administration, integrated products, AI-powered protection, openness, and a service-oriented approach to security.
“Our next-gen solution set and strategy align well with these demands and have helped Sophos deliver strong growth in subscription revenue and customer count.
“We have become a leader in the next-gen cybersecurity market, and we are excited about the road ahead.”