ITG, the independent telecom company, continues to record strong growth. Pre-tax profit rose from £670,000 (€851,000) to £1,732,000 in the year ended April 30th, 1999. And further strong growth is anticipated.

The chief executive, Mr John Nagle, said the company had received approaches from several telecom companies, all interested in developing "commercial arrangements". ITG, he added, has now built up its payphone division to 65 million minutes. With that market share, it will be looking for more competitive rates from Telecom Eireann, he said. Mr Nagle also noted that ITG was now a "very significant" credit card services company.

ITG says it is committed to the group's strategic development through acquisitions. "The management team continues to identify acquisition opportunities that fit in with our core business strategy and afford good value to the group."

ITG enjoyed strong organic growth but acquisitions, accounting for 57 per cent of operating profit, were big contributors. Group turnover more than doubled from £7.3 million to £19.3 million. Earnings per share grew from 10.3p to 11.4p but if goodwill were excluded, the growth was 88 per cent. Operating margins widened from 10.6 per cent to 13.1 per cent. This, ITG said, "reflected tight cost controls and economies of scale generated by the enlarged group".

ITG has made a series of acquisitions and the latest, Computer land, incorporating Workstations and Workstations Training, contributed for three months to the computer division. The group noted there were "substantial opportunities for achieving synergies between the businesses which the management of the group will exploit to the full".

With the acquisition of Telecentral, Computercall and Integrated Cash Register Products, ITG noted it has established a significant presence in the British payphone and credit card services markets.

Reflecting the expansion of the group, employment levels have grown from around 100 a year ago to 300 now.