Capita Group, the outsourcing firm which administers the London congestion charge, reported an 18 per cent rise in full-year pre-tax profits and said it had won or extended major contracts worth more than £100 million in the first eight weeks of 2007.

Pre-tax profits for the year to December 2006 rose to £193.2 million, from £153.1 million the previous year, on turnover which increased by 21 per cent to £1.7 billion.

The company, which collects the BBC licence fee and has contracts with a number of government departments, said it secured £1.4 billion of major contract wins and renewals in 2006, compared to £1.1 billion in 2005. These include a ten-year contract worth £132 million with the BBC, a three-year contract worth £120 million with the Department of Trade and Industry, a seven-year contract worth £120 million with DSG international and a 15-year contract worth £100 million with Fujitsu. In the first two months of this year, it won or extended contracts worth £132 million. It is also on the shortlist for contracts worth £2.6 billion.

Capita spent £48 million on 11 acquisitions and investments in 2006, which it said was part of its strategy to acquire small to medium-sized businesses that would add value to shareholders.

The company said it had maintained its number one position in the business process outsourcing (BPO) market, which is estimated at £4.6 billion, with a potential worth of £94.8 billion according to industry analysts Ovum. Capita's business is split 52 per cent and 48 per cent between the public and private sectors respectively but it said it expects to move closer to the overall market split of 35 per cent and 65 per cent.

Capita, which won a £400 million contract to oversee the Criminal Records Bureau in 2002, was fined nearly £2 million for delays in providing checks on people working with children in 2003.