Park Group annual profit surges on corporate billings

9th Jun 2015 15:40

Voucher and prepaid gift card provider Park Group has seen its annual pre-tax profit rise as corporate billings surged.The London-listed company reported a 16% year-on-year increase in pre-tax profits to £10.9m in the year to 31 March, while billings rose 11% to £372.9m.Corporate billings, which include employers providing staff with vouchers as sales incentives or rewards, jumped 14% to £176.1m, while billings for the consumer business increased 8.4% to £196.8m.New group chief executive Chris Houghton said the group's corporate division had grown faster than its consumer arm, adding it expected the segment to eventually account for the majority of group sales."Hopefully we will build both of them, but the corporate business has a potentially bigger volume opportunity," said Houghton.In a statement released on Tuesday, the company said the majority of new business came from online consumers, with first-time customers accounting for 86% of Christmas orders compared with 81% in 2013.Park Group shares were flat at 62.00p at 15:51 on Tuesday.