A plethora of local results

The buy-out of One2One, the fourth largest and fastest growing mobile communications operator in the UK, by Deutsche Telekom AG for $13.5 billion, dominated the international IT world last week. Although there was no dominant event at home, the focus was on the new/revised listings and the plethora of financial results that appeared.

• the satisfactory new listings of AST-A (the merged AST/Abraxas group) and M-Web (de-linked from MIH);

• excellent year-end numbers from Global Technology (maiden results);

• excellent interims from Acumen, Decillion and Paracon;

• satisfactory interims from Integrated Health Technologies; and

• the news that a newly created e-commerce group is to reverse list into cash shell Absec, and debut in the venture capital sector of the JSE, under its new name, Aqua Online Holdings.

[Local]

Local Cautionary Notices (see attachment).

Local Listing calendar (see attachment).

Other local news included:

• the announcement by Faritec that it is opening a London office;

• the appointment of Toni Fourie as the new MD of Incredible Connection`s Retail Division;

• the appointment of Aaron Stanger as executive chairman of Explorer Corporation;

• the cancellation of the proposed sell-off of Training Connection to Datatec;

• the opening of a SA office for Microbank Software; and

• the likelihood that the new Altech IT listing will be delayed, yet again.

• the consolidations and re-alignments that have been prevalent over the past few months within the telecommunications and networking areas are continuing unabated; as well as the continued rationalisation within the semiconductor industry within and between the various US and Taiwan companies.

[International]

Other international news included:

• the announcement by Telecom Italia and Siemens that they will split the assets of Italtel in which they both have a 50% shareholding; and

• Hutchinson Technology will cut some 500 jobs and Sterling Commerce about 200 people.

We saw excellent figures from DRS Technologies, ICM Unternehmensberatung GmbH, Quanta Services and Siliconix.

Losses came from Accrue Software, ACT Teleconferencing, Advanced Comms, Allin, Allstar Systems, AmeriQuest, Artisoft, Aspen Technology, Aureal, Delphi Information Systems, Digex, Digital Island, Dynamics Research, Elcotel, En Pointe Technologies, ENStar (just), Fantastic, Genicom, Global Crossing (only just - revenues nearly doubled), GTS, Illinois Superconductor, Ilog SA, IXC Comms, LanOptics, Media Metrix, Mentor Graphics, MPSI Systems, Navidec, NTN Comms, Orange, Orbit, Pathnet, Peregrine Systems, Primus Telecomms, Rare Medium Group, Rhythms NetConnections, RDM, Security First Technologies, SoftNet Systems, SSE Telecom, StarBase, StarMedia, Tegal, theglobe.com, Time Warner Telecomm, Treev, Verio, Viasoft, Viatel, VirtualInternet.com, Webb Interactive Services and WorldPort Comms.

Good numbers were recorded by Anaren Microwave, ASM International, Autonomy Corporation., CBS, CommNet Cellular, Creative Technology, Dynatech (back in the black), ECI Telecom, Gentner Comms, IMRglobal, Integral Systems, International Integration, Perot Systems, PSDI, Sunquest Information Systems and Topcall International AG. Satisfactory results came from Emulex (back in the black), Mannesmann, Meta Group, SCI Systems, Silicom, SPSS, Sterling Commerce, Telident, TRC, Unigraphics and Vishay Intertechnology.

Mediocre returns came from Amkor, APAC Customer Services (back in the black), Communications Systems, Interface Systems (back in the black), Kent Electronics, Micros-To-Mainframes, Nice Systems, PCD, Scan-Optics, Sitel (back in the black), Sterling Software and Technology Solutions. Very poor results came from InterDigital Comms, Nextera (back in the black - just), OSI and STM Wireless.

Other financial news included profit warnings from Gresham Computing (loss), Intel (Level One acquisition charge) and share split announcements from Applied Micro Circuits, Emulex and Progressive Telecomms (reverse split).There was also the news that Fairchild Semiconductor has gone public.

Locally

Accord (+30.6%)
Bryant (-29.7%)
Core (+26.6%)
Elexir (-23.8%)
Explorer (+36.4%)
JemTech (-31.2%)
Micrologix (-23.8%)
Sethold (-24.3%)
Synergy (-23.6%)
WenTech (+88.2%)
Y2Ktec (+30.8%)

Internationally

AboveNet Comms (-18.1%)
CNET (-19.1%)
Creative Computers (- 24.2%)
Datapoint (-16.7%)
Frontline Comms (-21.4%)
Inprise (-24.2%)
Lycos (-17.6%)
Peerless Systems (+18.8%)
Read-Rite (-17.5%)

It seems at long last that someone is starting to highlight the potential issues associated with the 9th September date! Maybe there aren`t any Cobol programs still being used in SA, and therefore this date is irrelevant!