Networks First breaks £10m sales barrier

Third-party services firm posts double-digit growth in revenue and profit during successful FY10

First class: The services specialist banked more than £500,000 in net profit

Support services provider Networks First boosted revenue by 14 per cent in its recently concluded fiscal year to post eight-figure sales for the first time.

For the 12 months to 31 March, sales at the Redditch-based firm stood at £10.65m, up from £9.36m last year. Net profit rose more than a quarter to £503,000. Net assets also rose more than £130,000 during the year to approximately £490,000. The average number of employees for the year was 89, almost half of which are engineers.

In documents recently filed with Companies House, the directors' report for the year claims the third-party services market remained in solid shape through the recession.

"Despite the recession, demand for network infrastructure services has remained relatively buoyant. This is particularly so in the case of professional services," says the report. "This may be the result of customers' cost-reduction programmes, which have boosted demand for bought-in expertise."

During the year, Networks First revamped its management line-up, including the appointment of Sara Gemmell as managing director in November. The report says the new-look leadership is capable of leading the company to further growth in the coming years.

"Despite the business community remaining uncertain in many respects, Networks First is planning to grow over the next twelve months," says the report. " The three-year objective is to achieve significant growth in all areas of operation, but particularly in outsourced services and converged support."