Sophos and Fortinet have supported claims that the IT security sector is defying the downturn by posting double-digit growth.

Anti-virus specialist Sophos saw revenue for its fiscal year to 31 March power up 27 per cent to $270.9m (£165m).

The UK-based vendor attributed the rise to its expansion in North America and recent acquisition of data protection firm Utimaco. It secured 19,000 new customers during the year, with half of those Symantec and McAfee displacements.

Sophos also paid tribute to its channel, claiming that its first ever Global Partner Programme had received a positive response.

Meanwhile, Fortinet saw revenue rise 20 per cent year on year to $55m in its fiscal first quarter to 29 March. The unified threat management vendor banked a $5m pre-tax profit during the period.

Ken Xie, Fortinet founder and chief executive, said: “In the current economic climate, customers’ predisposition for highly efficient and cost-effective technologies is working strongly in our favour, especially with the release of our newest operating system – FortiOS 4.0 – which adds even more functionality without more cost.”

Blue Coat was a third security vendor to unveil financial results this week, although it missed Wall Street estimates as it sank to a $3.5m fourth-quarter loss. Sales for the three months to 30 April climbed 29 per cent to $114m, although growth stood at a muted one per cent with the contribution of recent acquisition Packeteer stripped out.