Domain name registry Verisign have recorded a combined increase of 3.2% in the .COM and .NET registrations. The registry claims that the net increase has been contributed by two factors namely- increase in the number of renewals and the stringent registration process set by Verisign.
Verisign claim that the number of .COM and .NET registrations by the end of the first quarter clocked 148 million in number. They also claim that this spike in registrations was reflected in their Q1 revenue that reached USD 299 million, a healthy rise by 3.7% than the previous year.
According to Verisign, the renewal rate for .COM and .NET in the fourth quarter of 2017 was 72.2% as compared to 67.6% and 73.3% in the same quarter in 2016 and 2015 respectively. Speaking about the increase in .COM and .NET registrations, Jim Bidzos, Executive Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Verisign, commented:
The continued focus and discipline of our employees has generated another quarter of solid financial performance and value creation.
In other business highlights, Verisign announced that they processed more than 9.6 million new domain name registrations for .COM and .NET. This figure, Verisign claim, has increased as compared to 9.5 million recorded in the same quarter in 2017.