Shares in GB Group (GBG) were pushing up towards their 12-month high as the ID verification specialist announced that revenue and adjusted operating profits for its March year-end would be in advance of market consensus. The top line was 11.3 per cent to the good on an underlying constant-currency basis, while a profit of £31.7m was up a fifth on FY2018.
Year-end net debt was up sharply following deals to acquire VIX Verify Global and IDology, coming in at £66.3m, equivalent to 42 per cent of shareholders’ funds at the half-year mark, although repayment commitments were relatively modest through to the year-end. An Australian dollar three-year term loan of A$10m (£5.5m) was extended from its original maturity of April 2017 to November 2019. But any increase in servicing commitments needs to be set against the overall impact to the business once the recently acquired assets (part-financed through a vendor placing) are fully bedded in.