Brightsolid – owner of Friendsreunited and several genealogy sites, and provider of IT services – has cut its losses for the year ended 31 March 2010.

Brightsolid online technology division provides tech services and support to the company's publishing division and to outside companies.

Over the year the division focused on private cloud contracts, including winning a contract for 5,000 email inboxes at the University of St Andrews. Another major win in the period was the deal to scan and digitise the British Library's newspaper archive.

Across both divisions gross profit grew by 12 per cent, leaving the company with a £322,000 loss.

Turnover increased by 23 per cent this year to £16,230,875. The company said growth over the year had been partly offset "by an aggressive policy of dataset and related intangible asset amortisation".

Brightsolid's publishing portfolio includes findmypast.co.uk, 1911Census.co.uk and scotlandspeople.gov.uk – and it completed the purchase of FriendsReunited from ITV in March 2010.

It is owned by Dennis the Menace publisher DC Thomson – Brightsolid repaid a £5m loan to its Dundee-based parent, which also converted another £12.5m loan into shares in Brightsolid. ®