Recent annual results for 2007 from Velti, which has quickly become a global provider of mobile marketing services and usable platforms for media agencies, showed strong sales and profits growth.

For the calendar year, sales grew an impressive 84% to €19.9m (£15.6m), from which operating profits improved 67% to €5m (£3.9m), on the back of strong organic growth and expansion into new territories.

A key annual highlight was the formation of Ansible, now the world’s largest mobile marketing group, with global advertising giant Interpublic. Mobile marketing is predicted to develop into a US$19bn (£9.5bn) market in the next four years, with Interpublic expected to claim a $1.3bn share.

More recently, Velti announced its entry into the rapidly developing Chinese market. It is investing $3m in CASEE, China’s largest mobile advertising exchange, in return for 33% of the company, and has warrants for a further 17% to take its holding up to 50% for an additional $3m investment.

The CASEE deal highlights the internationalism that is driving Velti, which already has offices in Mumbai, Moscow, Dubai and throughout the US and the EU. Velti has managed to expand globally from its Balkans base, attracting clients such as General Motors, MTV and Microsoft last year, with the fledgling Ansible already having signed up several Fortune 50 clients.

Given the group’s strong earnings visibility, rising global demand for mobile advertising and a sales line forecast to burgeon to more than €35m this year alone, shares in Velti, which have risen from Growth Company Investor’s original recommendation price of 136p, remain well worth holding.

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