Kainos only had 12 employees when Brendan Mooney first joined, but now has nearly 800

Belfast IT giant Kainos has posted pre-tax profits of £14.3m during the firm's first full year as a listed company.

The business reported revenue of £76.6m for the year to March 2016. That was up from £60.8m the previous 12 months.

And pre-tax profit rose from £11.8m to £14.3m.

Total sales in the 12 month period rose to £87.2m, up from £78.3m.

The software company is headed by Co Antrim man Brendan Mooney.

It's the first trading performance since Kainos became one of just three Northern Ireland firms to float on the London Stock Exchange, back in July last year.

Brendan Mooney, Kainos chief executive, said: "I am delighted to report another year of strong performance, with increasing levels of client demand across each of our operating divisions.

"We are very pleased with progress to date and excited by the opportunities ahead. We are seeing continued stability and improvement in core markets and we are encouraged by the emerging opportunities in the US.

"Our investment in new products is being validated by an increasing rate of customer uptake, and the feedback on the quality of our products and services remains very high.”

The firm helps the healthcare industry and the Government digitalise their work, and earlier this year added more than 400 jobs to its workforce.

Chief executive Brendan Mooney, who hails from just outside Dunloy, joined Belfast-based Kainos back in 1989, when it employed little more than a dozen members of staff.

Belfast Telegraph