GB says impossible to understand Covid-19 impact

Pretax profit for the year to the end of March rose to £20.6m from £14.7m as revenue rose 38.7% to £199.1m. Organic revenue at constant currency rose 10.7% to £158.3m.

GB said it had good growth across its businesses during the year and that international revenue made up 56% of the business - up from 45% a year earlier.

The year ended as Covid-19 shutdowns were taking effect on economies. GB said customer turnover and insolvency levels were at normal levels but some customers were taking more time to pay invoices. The crisis is affecting business in different ways across customers, products and countries with some negative and positive results, the company said.

Suppliers have suffered little impact and GB has won new business but sales cycles are lengthening as customers conserve cash, it said. With consumers doing more business online and organisations seeking quick, secure digital services, demand for GB's products could increase, the company said.

Chris Clark, GB's chief executive, said: "It is not possible to predict how long the effects of the disruption caused by the pandemic will last. While the group has a high level of annual recurring licence revenue, which provides good visibility, the full impact on volume-based sales are harder to predict. This means we do not yet have sufficient visibility to provide guidance for the year ending 31 March 2021."

GB paid no final dividend as part of a series of measures to save cash and cut costs during the crisis. Directors' bonuses have been deferred and pay has been frozen across the company. Non-essential recruitment has been put on hold.

The company's shares fell 2.7% to 655p.