A flurry of results

The shock resignations of Compaq`s CEO Eckhard Pfeiffer, and CFO Earl Mason, and the thwarting of Olivetti`s overtures by Telecom Italia with its $81 billion merger with Deutsche Telekom, dominated the international IT business world. At home, the flood of full-year and interim figures (some of which were maiden results), stole the limelight.

The Deutsche Telekom and Telecom Italia deal creates the world`s second largest telecommunications company behind NTT Corp of Japan. Other relationships with European telecommunication companies will now come under immense scrutiny and may well precipitate other similar moves.

• the successful listings of NetActive and Interconnective Solutions on the JSE; the withdrawal by SecureData of its proposed acquisition of PentaCom;
• the publication of excellent full year numbers by Impotek Group Holdings, IST and USKO
• good year-end figures by Jasco
• excellent interim results from MB Technologies and UCS
• good interim numbers from Reunert
• poor interim results from Dectronic

[Local]

Local Cautionary Notices (see attachment)

Local IT Listing Calendar (see attachment)

Other local news included:

• the announcement that Selective Financial Group has decided to only focus on IT and sell-off all its other interests;
• the resignation of the Connection Group CEO, Philip Cowles
• the appointment of J C van Niekerk, the interim CEO of the recently established State Information Technology Agency, as CEO of Brainware;
• the proposed sell-out of the majority (90%) of Baan SA to a staff team and private investors, together with a merchant bank who will provide financial backing (a name change would also be involved; and wasn`t it strange that the Baan brothers happened to be in SA last week!)
• the name change of the Impotek Group Holdings to I-Fusion Holdings.

There were also rumours that The Connection Group was being acquired.

AT&T has entered the fray in the chase for MediaOne, topping the recent bid made by Comcast, with an offer valued at some $62.5 Billion, $2.5 billion more than the Comcast bid.

[International]

On the results front, we saw excellent figures from Advanced Communications Systems, AirTouch Comms, Bell Microproducts, Broadcom, Citrix Systems, Clarify, CNET, Concord Comms, CSG Systems International, Electronic Processing, ESS Technology (back in the black), Genesys Telecomms., Input Software, Key Tronic, Legato Systems, LHS

Group, MicroStrategy, Microwave Power Devices, Network Solutions, NEON Systems, Nokia, Open Text, Qwest Comms, Siebel Systems, Unilog Group, and Xircom.

Losses came from 3Dlabs, Aetrium, Applied Microsystems, Atmel, Auspex Systems, Abovenet, Beyond.com, Cirrus logic, Clarus, Comshare, Concentric Network, Digi International, Digital Microwave, Exodus Comms (but revenue quadrupled), Gentia Software, Globix, Ilog, Inacom, Komag, Lam Research, Level One Comms, Lockheed Martin, Madge Networks, Meridian Data, Micro Linear, Neoware Systems, NetGravity, Network Computing Devices, Network Peripherals, Nextel Comms (revenues more than doubled), ODS Networks, Objective Systems integrators, Onyx Software, Open Market, PeopleSoft, Pick Comms, Prodigy Comms, QMS, Qualcomm, RealNetworks, RF Micro Devices, Ross Systems, S3, Secure Computing, Technology Solutions Company, Tricord Systems, Turbodyne Technologies, Ultimate Software, USWeb/CKS (although revenue more than doubled), Verilink, VeriSign, Vignette, Voss Net Plc., Western Digital, Xicor and Zilog.

Good numbers were recorded by Actuate Software, Alltel, Ameritech, ANTEC, Bell & Howell, Broadvision, Butler International, CACI International, Cadence Design Systems (back in the black), Check Point Software Technologies, Compaq, Computer Horizons, Conexant (back in the black), Cypress semiconductor (back in the black), Dassault Systems, Datastream Systems, Debis Systemhaus GmbH, E*Trade Group, EMC, ETC (back in the black), Gateway, General Instruments, HNC Software, i2, IBM (better than expected), Informix, Integrated Device Technology, Internet Security Systems (back in the black), Kofax, Lexmark (better than expected), Landmark Systems, Lucent technologies, MapInfo, Maxtor (back in the black), Micromuse (back in the black and revenue more than doubled), Microsoft, Mitek Systems (back in the black), New Era of Networks, Olicom (back in the black), Pervasive Software, Philips Electronics NV (better than expected), Project Software & Development (back in the black), Remedy, Sanmina, SBS Technologies, SCM Microsystems, SCO, Siemens AG, Spyglass (back in the black), SRDC, STMicroelectronics, Symix Systems, Tandy, Tangram Enterprise Solutions, Tricom, TriQuint (back in the black), Visio, VLSI Technology and Xilinx.

Satisfactory figures were announced by ANSYS, Applix, BellSouth, Brio Technology (back in the black), Diebold, Emulex (back in the black), Encad, Entrust Technologies, Equinox Systems, FORE Systems, GTE, GRC International, Pitney Bowes, Protocol Systems, Rogers Comms (back in the black), Sapient, SBC Comms, SEMX (back in the black), Software AG, Sprint, Sybase (back in the black), Texas Instruments, TRW and Xerox.

Mediocre returns came from Advanced Fibre Comms, Cognex, Data General (back in the black), Data Systems Network (back in the black), Datrontech Group Plc., Elantec Semiconductor, Ericsson, Evans & Sutherland, First Data Corp., Forte Software (back in the black), Harris Corp., Hyperion solutions, Ikos Systems, Lattice Semiconductor, Network Associates, Rockwell International, SAP, SIPEX, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Teradyne, US West, Vertex Comms and Viasoft; whilst very poor results came from Aspect Development, Diamond multimedia Systems, DSP Group, Exar, Innovex, NCR (just in the black), Sanchez Computer Associates, Sequent Computer Systems, and Vantive.

Other financial news included:

• profit warnings from Network Associates (Q2), Qualcomm and Vantive;
• shares splits from Altera, CNET, E*Trade Group, Qwest Comms, RealNetworks, Sprint and Tellabs;
• and the announcement that Lawson Software intends to go public next year.

Locally

Crux (+22.2%)
Decillion (+28.1%)
PentaCom (-46.4%)
Selective Financial Group (-30.3%)
Spicer (+57.9%)

Internationally

3Com (+25.1%)
CDN (-42.1%)
Compuware (+31.6%)
ESS Technology (+44.4%)
Group 1 Software (+36.7%)
Meta Group (+29.6%)
PCD (+35.4%)
Qualcomm (+33.9%)
TriQuint Semiconductor (+39.8%)
Vantive (-30%)

Finally, rumours suggest that 3Com seems to be the new acquisition target, with a host of companies including Ericsson, Siemens, Intel and Motorola, being associated with such a move. This follows on from 3Com`s disappointing quarterly figures that emerged earlier this month.