Datacraft Asia has reported interim results in line with its trading statement issued last year, despite recent rumours that the figures would be worse than originally indicated.
The networking systems integrator and e-business enabler is 51% owned by Dimension Data, whose own share took a dip on the rumours.
The DiData share firmed initially on the release of the results, rising to R13.60 late this morning. By early afternoon, the share was trading at R13.50, 20c or 1.5% up on yesterday`s close of R13.30.
Datacraft Asia`s operating profit after tax and minorities (excluding goodwill amortisation and exceptional items, came in at $6.5 million on revenue of $217.5 million for the six months to end-December 2001.
Datacraft Asia chairman Des Althorp says the company restructured in the first half to bring expenses in line with prevailing business volumes, resulting in a one-off restructuring charge of $6.7 million before tax.
After the one-off charge, the company achieved a profit in line with its forecast in November.
"I am pleased the company achieved the revised targets we set in November last year," Althorp says. "Datacraft Asia underwent one of its worst trading periods during the first half, particularly following the tragic events in the US on 11 September and the subsequent significant market slowdown.
"As a result, our overall business volumes have dropped approximately to the previous year`s level.
"We moved rapidly to reduce our total expenses and fixed cost to last year`s level through a retrenchment and rationalisation exercise in the last few months. As a result, we are now on track with our cost control and enter the second half with a business model trimmed to accommodate the lower level of business volumes.
"Although business performance has somewhat improved with orders recovering from the October low, trading conditions remain difficult and visibility unclear."
He adds that the company believes it is still considerably ahead of competitors.
Althorp says the company remains focused on strengthening its capabilities in application software and value-added services, and has put together its iCommerce and iBOSS software skills under a unified business solutions group.
"Also, to capitalise on new opportunities in the service provider market, we are planning to introduce new offerings in soft-switch, SMS and unified messaging for GPRS/3G operators. Our strong focus on addressing these growing opportunities will position us to accelerate the business once the economy recovers," he adds.
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