Sophos Group PLC (LON:SOPH) said its billings for the nine-months to December 2017 increased by 21%, or 20% at constant currency, as the cloud-enabled network security solutions provider saw good growth across all regions and it is confident on the full-year outlook.
In a trading update, the FTSE 250-listed firm highlighted continued strong growth in the third-quarter, with billings up 19%, or 14% at constant currency as the anniversary of the launch of its Intercept X product was lapped.
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The growth said its subscription billings increased by 25% in the year-to-date, with growth of 20% in the third-quarter, while network security billings rose by 12% and 15% respectively in the same periods.
Sophos noted good growth across all regions, with billings in the Americas and Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) up 22%, and ahead 14% in the Asia Pacifica and Japan in the year to date.
The group also highlighted a further acceleration in revenue with growth of 19% in the year to date and 23% in the third quarter - 18% and 19% growth respectively in constant currency.
The company also noted a strong cash flow performance, with net cash flow from operations up by 21% to US$98.2mln and an improvement in unlevered free cash flow to US$88.2mln in the year to date following planned investment in recent new product releases.
Confident on full-year outlook
Kris Hagerman, Sophos’ chief executive officer, said: "The strong demand for our industry-leading cybersecurity solutions continued in Q3.
“Customer reaction to XG Firewall v17 has been very positive, and we are delighted to have recently launched a major new release of Intercept X, incorporating for the first time our neural network-based deep learning technology into our leading endpoint product.
“Consequently, as our business continues to post strong growth the Board is confident both in the outlook for the full-year and the longer-term prospects of the Group."