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Kainos, the Belfast-based IT firm, increased pre-tax profits by 9% to £26m in the year ending March 2020.

That profit was achieved on a turnover of £179m, up by 18%, while staff numbers also grew over the year, from 1,470 to 1,715.

Kainos specialises in helping organisations to digitise their operations and is a major supplier to UK government departments.

The company said the coronavirus crisis had not impacted on its result.

However it added it was taking a "prudent" approach to the coming year.

Last month it said it was postponing the construction of a new headquarters building.

Kainos is planning to develop offices on the site of the Moviehouse cinema in Belfast city centre.

The firm expects its clients in government and healthcare to be "more robust" than other sectors.

Aside from deferring the office project, Kainos furloughed some staff, is freezing recruitment and delaying payment of a dividend.

The three most senior executives will take no salary or bonuses for six months while the remaining members of the executive team have reduced their pay by 50% and the non-executive board members have reduced their fees by 20%.

The company says it has cash deposits in excess of £40m and no debt.

Brendan Mooney, chief executive, said: "It is too early to predict the duration or the severity of the economic disruption and the impact it will have on our customers.

"We maintain confidence in our strategy and believe that we have reacted to the uncertainty of the current situation swiftly and prudently, leaving us well positioned when the economic impacts of the coronavirus on the broader economy begin to recede."