The "leadership question" in Norkom's target market will be decided within two years, chief executive Paul Kerley said yesterday when announcing the company's first results since its June flotation.

Norkom, which specialises in financial crime and compliance software, reported a 41 per cent increase in revenue to €11.5 million for the six months to September 30th. Profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose by 31 per cent to €2.1 million. Basic earnings per share were up by 22 per cent to 2.18c. Licence revenue grew by 77 per cent, boosted by business wins in Europe and North America. Substantial new clients included Credit Agricole and Western Union.

Mr Kerley said he hopes to exploit the fact that some key competitors face the "distractions" of ownership changes to consolidate Norkom's position.

He said he expects many large institutions to change their operating systems over the next five years to include a "financial crime footprint" in their replacement systems.

He noted that $320 billion (€250 billion) is spent globally on compliance in the financial services industry, 16 per cent of that on technology.

Norkom has "engaged" with a number of potential acquisition targets, Mr Kerley said, with about 70 per cent of this activity focused on North America.

"It's important for North American institutions to see us committed to the market."

No acquisitions are imminent, he said, but he reiterated that one reason Norkom floated was to seek acquisitions and that he would like to buy within 12 months. "The scale of acquisition we are looking at probably has turnover of $10-$15 million," he said.

Norkom, which floated on the AIM and the IEX markets on June 26th, increased investment in research and development by 50 per cent over the period. Sales and marketing investment increased by 65 per cent. The company beefed up senior staff and expanded its geographical footprint by opening an office in Sydney, Australia to lead expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.

The company also expanded its operation in the US. By the end of September, Norkom had grown its staff numbers to 154.

One change at senior levels of the company was the departure from the board of Denis O'Brien, who quit his directorship in September, along with his other Irish directorships, to focus on his international business interests.