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Highlights
- Kape Technologies’ revenue grew at 61.9% year-on-year to $95.5 million in H1 2021 ended 30 June from $59.0 million in H1 2020.
- NCC Group’s board declared a final dividend of 3.15 pence per share.
- Darktrace announced expansion into the attack prevention and proactive security AI capabilities segments by the end of 2021.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) reported a 7.5% rise in the number of cyberattacks in the UK in the year to August, primarily triggered by ransomware attacks originating from Russia. The rise in cyberattacks is fuelled by the increase in the number of criminal hackers obtaining control of corporate data and demanding a ransom payment in the form of cryptocurrency.
Criminal hackers have been successful in aiming organisations in the UK such as the London Borough of Hackney and the luxury jeweller Graff. Fixing the damage caused by such attacks can take months. The rebuilding of Hackney’s affected systems cost around £10 million. In October, NCSC’s parent organisation revealed that the ransomware attacks in last one year on UK-based institutions has doubled. The impact of ransomware attacks on the country’s economy is expected to cost several hundreds of pounds.
Therefore, the demand for robust security software is stronger than ever. Below is a detailed review of 3 cybersecurity stocks listed on the London Stock Exchange – Kape Technologies, NCC Group and Darktrace.
(Data source: Refinitiv)
Kape Technologies Plc (LON: KAPE)
Kape Technologies is a developer and distributor of digital security products. Kape Technologies purchased ExpressVPN, a virtual private network (VPN) company, for $936 million.
Kape Technologies’ revenue grew at 61.9% year-on-year to $95.5 million in H1 2021 ended 30 June from $59.0 million in H1 2020. Its operating profit rose by 299% year-on-year to $13.6 million in H1 2021 compared to the previous year’s $3.4 million.
The shares of Kape Technologies are trading at GBX 420.00 at 8:54 AM BST on 17 November 2021. The market cap of the company stands at £1,264.74 million, and the shares of Kape Technologies gave a return of 139.97% to shareholders.
NCC Group Plc (LON: NCC)
NCC Group is a provider of information assurance services. Its service portfolio also encompasses cyber security consulting and managed services, and software escrow and verification. In June 2021, NCC Group acquired the Intellectual Property Management business for $220 million to transform its global Software Resilience business.
NCC Group recorded revenues of £270.5 million for the year ended 31 May 2021, representing an increase of 2.6% year-on-year from the previous year’s £263.7 million. Its profit before taxation rose by 54.2% year-on-year to £14.8 million for the year ended 31 May 2021 compared to £9.6 million in 2020.
NCC Group’s board declared a final dividend of 3.15 pence per share to shareholders.
The shares of NCC Group are trading at GBX 243.00, down by 0.41% at 8:52 AM BST on 17 November 2021. The market cap of the company stands at £755.68 million, and the shares of NCC Group gave a return of 26.04% to shareholders.
Darktrace Plc (LON: DARK)
Darktrace is a provider of AI-power cybersecurity solutions. It debuted on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in May 2021. The company announced expansion into the attack prevention and proactive security AI capabilities segments by the end of 2021.
Darktrace recorded revenues of $281.34 million for FY 2021 compared to $199.07 million in the previous year, representing an increase of 41.3% year-on-year. It reported a 45.3% increase in the number of customers from 3,858 in 2020 to 5,605.
The shares of Darktrace are trading at GBX 538.50, down by 1.01% at 8:56 AM BST on 17 November 2021. The market cap of the company stands at £3,801.94 million.
