16 Aug 2012

Diligent expects growth in Europe, Australasia

9:03 am on 16 August 2012

Digital board book maker Diligent says it's expecting Europe and Australasia to be its growth markets over the coming year.

The company's profit rose to $US3,357,813 in the six months to June, a 308% increase compared with the same period last year.

Diligent's software helps company boards keep track of their papers online, and it generates its income from annual subscriptions for the software.

The company supplies 224 firms on the US Fortune 1000 list.

Diligent chairman David Liptak says confidence in the software is beginning to grow globally.

He says in any market that Diligent goes into there is an education process, then perhaps a testing process and an adoption phase.

Mr Liptak says once adoption of the product starts, uptake usually then gets quicker, because often board members sit on more than one board and so information about the product spreads through referral.

He says the company expects that to happen in Europe and Australia.

The US-based company has been listed on the New Zealand stock exchange since 2007 and employs about 30 staff, around a quarter of its international workforce, at its research and development site in Christchurch.

Mr Liptak says it's taken some time to establish market presence in New Zealand, although over the last year or so Diligent has done quite well in what is becoming a relatively significant market for the company.

He says Diligent hasn't reached its potential scale of business and is well placed to develop further.