Cyber defence earnings soar

SECURITY firm Avast has posted an upbeat set of maiden results.

The company, which floated on the London Stock Exchange in May, saw earnings rise 11pc to £170m in the six months to June.

The company’s revenue rose 8.5pc to £305m.

Avast boss Vincent Steckler said: ‘The group is performing strongly with sustained high growth, in line with market expectations.

Desktop revenue rose 12.6pc to £217m and customer numbers were up 2.6pc to 11.7m.

Shares rose 3.2pc, or 7.4p, to 237p each yesterday.