NCC hails better-than-expected Q4, shares surge

NCC Group said on Thursday that trading in the fourth quarter was better than expected and lifted its outlook, sending shares in the cyber security firm surging.

For the four months to the end of September, the company had guided to overall revenue of about £100m and adjusted operating profit of approximately £3.5m.

However, it said on Thursday that during the period, trading in the cyber security division was better than expected in what is historically a quieter period of the calendar year.

As a result, it now expects overall revenue of around £104m, up 4% on the same period a year earlier, and group adjusted operating profit of £6m.

NCC is due to publish its audited group results for the 16 months to 30 September in December.

Chief executive Mike Maddison said: "We have seen the benefit to gross margin from the actions we took over 12 months ago to align our global delivery and operational headcount. We continue to simplify our business, aligning ourselves to our client needs in a competitive marketplace, to generate profitable revenue growth and sustainable gross margins.

"Our transformation journey is ongoing, and we continue to build out our core cyber security capabilities and our separate Escode re-branded business, which both provide future growth opportunities to continue to enhance shareholder value."

At 0910 BST, the shares were up 9.9% at 166.60p.