London: Buoyed by strong growth in developing markets, including India, global security firm G4S has recorded a pre-tax profits of 216 million pounds in 2007 as against last year's figure of 199 million pounds. The Anglo-Danish firm G4S, formerly known as Group 4 Securicor, said expansion in the Middle East, India and Saudi Arabia mainly contributed to the increase in revenue.

It grew 7 per cent in developed markets, such as Europe and the United States of America, but recorded a 17 per cent growth in developing nations, it said. G4S is now a major employer in India and enjoyed 28 per cent growth in the country in 2007. The company has recently won contracts to provide security for airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Cochin.

The company has also expanded its operations in Mauritius, Mauritania, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. "The company is extremely pleased with the performance of the business in 2007 and feel confident about the further development of the group this year," CEO Nick Buckles said.

"Overall, the outlook for the business is good and we are not expecting the recent economic uncertainties to impact our ability to continue to deliver strong results in the future," he said. G4S employs 530,000 staff and has operations in more than 110 countries.

Source : PTI