Shares in digital security firm Vasco surged to a 52 week high after the vendor said its second quarter profit more than doubled on the back of strong demand for its Web authentication technology.
The vendor's net income for the second quarter to 30 June 2007 climbed to $6.9 million, compared to $3.0 million in the year ago quarter. Net income for the first half of 2007 was $11.8 million, compared to $4.2 million for the comparable period in 2006.
Second quarter revenue increased 75% to $32.4 million, from $18.5 million for Q2 2006 and, for the first six months of 2007, increased 83% to $58.8 million from $32.2 million for H1 2006.
The vendor says it signed 631 new customers in the second quarter - of which 113 were banks and 518 were enterprise security-related clients.
Vasco shares soared on the back of the news, reaching a 52-week high of $26.33 in early trading.
Commenting on the results, Jan Valcke, Vasco's president and COO, says: "The growth reflects an increase in the size of the market as the use of the Internet continues to expand, recognition by the market that it needs stronger forms of authentication to combat the increasing sophistication of the criminals in their attempts to steal persons' identities and the continued development of our product line."
Looking ahead the vendor says it already has orders worth $27.1 million to be shipped in the third quarter, which is 68% higher than last year.