Industrial technology company IST says its results for the year to end-February should show a meaningful growth in earnings over the previous year.
CEO Harry Coetzee says in a letter to stakeholders that the year was characterised by challenging market conditions and the substantial investment IST has made through acquisitions and major new product development.
"IST Data continues to do very well on the back of good products with healthy margins," he says.
"It is making rapid progress with the development of middleware products on the GE Smallworld platform and is also negotiating significant new GE Smallworld licences."
IST Data provides enterprise resource planning, operational support and strategic asset management systems.
IST`s other divisions are IST Dynamics (a provider of electro-mechanical and engineering software solutions for the defence industry), IST Nuclear, IST Energy (measurement, control and protection equipment, services and solutions), IST Otokon (energy management support solutions), IST Industrial (project engineering and management), and IST Telecom (a telecoms network solutions provider).
"IST Telecom produced a creditable performance in circumstances which continued to be difficult," Coetzee says.
The group has invested about R30 million in a drive to develop and extend the existing product offering in the defence business, IST Dynamics, as well as in IST Data and IST Energy.
"Dynamics` two major new projects are both progressing well, and highly successful product trials have recently been concluded. First orders for the new products could flow through in the latter half of 2004," Coetzee says.
IST Otokon has had what Coetzee says is the best year in its history, with IST Energy and IST Industrial both having had a good year. IST Dynamics` revenue was significantly reduced because of product development.
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