CANADIAN mining software company, Gemcom Software International Inc, has reported strong growth in sales and profits, helped by its July 2006 acquisition of Perth-based competitor Surpac Minex Group Pty Ltd. Gemcom lifted sales by 94 per cent to $C35.8 million ($A39.8 million) for the year ended March 31 2007. It said Surpac accounted for 68 per cent of the increase in revenue, or $A13.1 million, while organic growth accounted for 32 per cent of the increase. There was a similar pattern in the March quarter, which highlighted the growth of the business. Total revenue increased to $A13.4 million in the March quarter. Surpac contributed $4.9 million, which implies that the Perth-based business was generating annual revenue of about $A20 million. Gemcom said net income doubled to $C4.5 million ($A5 million). Gemcom claimed that the Surpac acquisition gave it the largest customer base in the industry. Gemcom’s privately owned competitors, such as Maptek and Datamine, acknowledge that Gemcom has a large number of customers but say that it has many small clients. In conjunction with the acquisition, the company initiated a detailed integration and change management plan that has resulted in several achievements since the deal was completed in July 2006. -Mark Beyer