Dermot Desmond biometrics company Daon sees profits dip

Dermot Desmond’s biometrics company Daon generated profits of almost €220,000 after tax last year, which was a dip of more than 13 per cent compared with the year before, its latest set of accounts show.

The company develops and sells biometric software and services to governments, system integrators and commercial entities to enable them to manage the identities of their citizens, customers and employees.

The company, which developed and rolled out the Verifly vaccine passport app used by Aer Lingus and other airlines during the Covid-19 pandemic, is controlled by the financier through its ultimate parent company Daon Holdings, which is registered in the Cayman Islands.

Its profit for the financial year after tax amounted to €219,627, which was down from €253,258 the year before. The directors did not recommend the payment of a dividend.

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It generated a turnover of €11.2 million, which was down from €12.2 million the year before. Its cost of sales rose from just over €1 million in 2021 to just over €2 million last year.

The company generates revenue from software licence fees, professional services, support and maintenance, hosting fees and user fees.

The accounts show the company incurred research and development expenditure of €750,663, which was up marginally on the €744,377 it spent the year before.

The directors said the company had equity in shareholders’ funds of just under €1.4 million at year end, which was up from just over €1.1 million. Its net current liabilities amounted to €5.5 million, which was down from €5.8 million.

The group had cash in the bank and in hand of €643,499 at the end of the year, which was down from €784,689.

The average monthly number of employees, including the directors, during the financial year was 32, which was down from 34 the year before.

In a note attached to the accounts, the group said it closed a sale agreement in July this year with a US-listed company to dispose of its entire 51 per cent holding in Digital Trust Identity Services.

Daon has sold biometrics systems to financial services companies including BNP Paribas, MasterCard and NatWest Group, who use the software to identify customers and authenticate payments.

Its technology is already widely used in airports and at borders around the world, winning a contract in 2015 to supply passport kiosks to Dublin Airport Authority.