Leading technology company Datacom Group has nearly doubled its profit on the back of a large revenue gain driven by increasing demand for digital services.
The firm's profit for the year ended March was up 84 percent to $35 million, compared with the previous year's $19m.
Group chief executive Greg Davidson said the result reflected increased demand for technology services and data center capability, as well as a major shift to cloud storage.
He said the pandemic caused a number of customers to delay investment decisions in the first half but there had been a noticeable pickup since January.
"That's one of the driving reasons behind why we've hired more than 200 people into our New Zealand business just since April," he said.
"We saw an immediate acceleration in the demand for cloud infrastructure, for digital projects that would help businesses continue trading and enable local authorities and government agencies to increase their connection and services to citizens."
Revenue rose 5 percent to $1.41 billion from $1.34b, with solid cash flow of $156m.
Davidson said the pandemic unleashed demand for business platforms that enabled Datacom's customers to continue operating during lockdowns.
Uptake of digital services continued in Australia with 60 percent growth in the local government team.
Growing demand for data centers also helped drive growth, with a $52m upgrade of Datacom's four data centers.
Davidson said this year the company, and the rest of the IT industry, will focus on developing local talent given the immigration challenges contributing to a shortage of skilled staff.
"To respond to the challenges faced in hiring technology talent on both sides of the Tasman, we are heavily prioritising and investing in our own people to reskill and upskill, including our transform programme," said Davidson.
"We are working with partners in the education field to increase the rates of training for key areas, such as cybersecurity, and with a range of new partners including Ngāi Tahu and intern programme TupuToa to develop our talent," he said.
