BSI celebrates its hundredth birthday with announcement

The British Standards Institution - best known for its world-renowned Kitemark - popped the champagne corks on April 26, 2001.

In a double celebration, the London-based international quality group announced a 16% increase in turnover and a 48% boost to profits on the day of its centenary.

Group turnover increased from £181.8 million in 1999 to £210.8 million in 2000, while operating profit was the highest ever at £17.3 million, (before exceptionals and goodwill write-off, but including associates), compared to £11.7 million in 1999.

The Annual Report for 2000 highlights the investment the Group has made in its global operations, particularly in the USA and Asia, and the strides made to reduce operating costs, increase productivity and improve cash flow. These measures have resulted in a marked upturn in the Group's performance.

BSI was the brainchild of a Victorian engineer who formed a committee to standardise the sizes and types of steel section used in construction to make British industry more competitive. The committee met for the first time on April 26 1901.

Now a global organisation with 4,200 staff in 112 countries, BSI is a world leader in management systems assessment, together with product and commodity testing, and as the national standards body of the UK British Standards facilitates the writing of national and international standards.

BSI's Chairman, Vivian Thomas CBE, said:
"It is especially gratifying that on the day of our hundredth birthday we were able to announce such robust financial results. We have invested in a strong and stable platform for continued growth and for expanding our ability to serve customers who have ever-increasing global requirements."

Among BSI's leading-edge developments are its acclaimed work on BS 7799 the information security standard, and the ground-breaking work being done in conjunction with its partners in Project Sigma, an environmental sustainability initiative.

Looking to the future, Vivian Thomas said: "We have always been on the leading edge of innovation in product development, and have developed quality schemes and standards which have had a major impact on the way businesses operate. One of our current priorities is to develop a BSI certification mark for commercial websites to give users of these sites confidence that they are responsibly operated."