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(Sharecast News) - GB Group reported a modest rise in first-half revenue on a constant-currency basis on Tuesday, and said it remained confident of accelerating growth in the second half, as the identity verification specialist continued its operational turnaround.
For the six months ended 30 September, revenue was flat at 135.5m, though on a constant-currency basis it grew 1.8% and by 4.4% when excluding last year's unusually high project volumes for a single customer and the planned retirement of an identity platform.
Gross margins improved by 40 basis points to 70%.
Adjusted operating profit rose 1.9% to 29.5m, or 4.6% at constant currency, reflecting progress in simplifying the operating model.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 12.6% to 8.2p, supported by stronger profitability and lower net interest costs.
Statutory revenue edged 1% lower, while statutory operating profit fell 28.7% to 6.7m and pre-tax profit declined 26.8% to 4.1m.
The company's statutory diluted earnings per share rose one-third to 0.8p, while net debt fell to 66.6m, representing leverage of 1.0 times EBITDA.
GBG completed 17m of buybacks in the first half and had previously committed a further 18m to be executed by the end of November.
A new 10m programme announced on Tuesday brought total repurchases disclosed for the 2026 financial year to 45m, which the board described as reflecting its long-term confidence in the business.
Cash conversion over the past 12 months was 85.8%.
The company said first-half trading reflected "underlying momentum and strong profitability" alongside an improved sales pipeline.
It reiterated its full-year outlook and expects constant-currency revenue growth to accelerate to a mid-single-digit rate in the second half, supported by continued improvement in the Americas business and the transition to its unified global identity platform, GBG Go.
The platform, launched in April, had secured 18 new customer wins with more than 65 qualified opportunities in progress.
GBG added that it was driving synergies from a simpler operating model and completed the acquisition of DataTools in Australia and New Zealand after the period ended.
The group also completed its move from AIM to the London Stock Exchange's main market on 30 October.
"We are pleased with our operational execution, which delivered a first half financial performance reflecting underlying momentum and strong profitability and built an improved sales pipeline," said chief executive Dev Dhiman.
"Our priorities are to deliver the performance turnaround in the Americas, transition towards GBG Go as our single global platform and unlock synergies from a simpler operating model.
"We enter the second half reiterating our 2026 financial outlook in line with current market expectation which reflects our confidence in delivering a second half growth acceleration."
In a separate announcement, the group confirmed an extension to its share buyback programme, appointing Deutsche Numis to manage a non-discretionary repurchase of up to an additional 10m of shares.
The extension would start once the current 25m programme completes by the end of November, and would run until the 10m was exhausted or until 31 March next year, with purchased shares to be cancelled.
The board said the decision was "an attractive use of surplus capital, aligned with our capital allocation policy, to generate significant shareholder value over the long-term."
At 1005 GMT, shares in GB Group were up 4.02% at 246p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.