A week`s worth of results

In a comparatively quiet week, it was the continued "positioning" activities of Deutsche Telekom and Mannesmann that dominated the international world of IT and telecommunications last week.

I wonder if we have seen the last of the IT listings for 1999?

At home, Old Mutual`s deal with Computer Sciences and the spate of local results stole the headlines, although there was disappointment that nothing on the expected Dimension Data/Comparex deal was forthcoming after the former`s year-end numbers were announced.

• excellent year-end numbers from Maxtec;
• very good year-end figures from Dimension Data, EC-Hold (better than forecast) and Set Point Technology Holdings;
• good interim numbers from Bynx and OSI Holdings; and
• the announcement that Idion Technology will transfer to the IT section of the JSE from the development capital sector, with effect from today.

[Local]

Local acquisitions, mergers, investments etc (see attachment).

Local Cautionary Notices (see attachment).

Local Listing calendar (see attachment).

Other local news included:

• the announcement that Marius Furst would retire from Compaq early in the New Year;
• UK software house, Vizual Business Tools, has opened a SA office;
• the software division of Creda Communications has been re-launched as Bowline Fulfilment; and
• the share offering for Botswana`s first IT listing, RPC Data, was four times over-subscribed.

• the announcement that IBM and Siebel are to integrate their hardware, software and services, as well as develop new software jointly. This news follows after some hectic activity in the customer relationship management (CRM) market-space with the recent acquisitions of Clarify and Vantive by Nortel Networks and PeopleSoft respectively.
• Last week also saw the announcement of the CRM winners of the 1999 Industry Solution Awards as being Clarify (Best Call Centre Solution), Onyx Software (Best Internet Solution - Other Applications), Pivotal (Best Integrated CRM Solution and Best Internet Solution for Customer Self-Service) and UpShot.com (Best Mobile Solution and Best Internet solution for Partner Relationship Management).
• I wonder if the IBM/Siebel move is a precursor to the former acquiring the latter in the near future?

International acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures etc (see attachment).

[International]

Other international news included:

• the appointments of Walden W O`Dell as CEO and president of Diebold, Joseph T Dunsmore as CEO of Digi International and Patrick Courtin as CEO and president of Gensym;
• the resignation of two senior executives from Lockheed Martin; and
• the announcement of jobs cuts from NCR and Storage Technology.

We saw excellent figures from Advanced Systems International (back in the black), Alysis Technologies (back in the black), Cunningham Graphics, F5 Networks (back in the black), Forrester Research, Global Imaging Systems, Hi/fn, JDS Uniphase, Lernout & Haupsie (back in the black), Macromedia, Magic Software, Mitek, Network Solutions and SDL.

Losses came from Accrue Software, ACT Networks, Active Software, Adaptive Broadband, Adept Technology, Alteon WebSystems, Amazon.com, Aris, Aspen Technology, AT&T Canada, Bluestone Software, Breakaway Solutions, BroadBand Technologies, Clarent, Computer Horizons, Computron Software, Concur Technologies, Concurrent Computers, Creative Computers, CTC Comms, CyberCash, Datakey, Data Transmission Network, Digital River, Dynamics Research, eGain Comms, Egghead, Enlighten Software, First Wave Technologies, FlexiInternational Software, Focal Comms, Geoworks, Giga Information Group, Glenayre Technologies, Global Crossing, Globecomm Systems, Go2Net, GST Telecomms, Hybrid Networks, ICG Comms, ImageX.com, IMSI, Infoseek, Infowave, Inprise, Intelligent Systems, Intergraph, Internet America, Ipix, ISSI, ITXC (but revenue jumped over 20 times!), Ixos, Juno Online, LanOptics, Learn2.com, Level 8 Systems, MapQuest.com, Maxtor, Merisel, MGC Comms, Micrografx, Mobius Management, NEC, Netrix, NorthPoint Comms Group, Olicom, OpenROUTE, OpTel, OSI, Persistence Software, Pilot Network Services, PixTech, Primus, PSINet, QMS, Qwest Comms, RCN, Read-Rite, RIT Technologies, Rogue Wave Software, S3, Scan-Optics, Segue Software, SGI, Simtek, Sitel, SPR, Stamps.com, Storage Technology, Sync Research, Tegal, Teledent, Telular, theglobe.com, Toshiba, USWeb/CKS, Vixel, VocalTec, Walker Interactive Systems, Wavecom SA, Wavo, White Pine Software, WorldGate Comms, ZDNet, Ziff-Davis Group, Ziplink and Zitel.

Good numbers were recorded by Active Voice (back in the black - just), ACX Technologies (back in the black), Acxiom (back in the black), American Management Systems, Avnet, Cognitronics, Computer Sciences, Consolidated Graphics, Continuous Software (back in the black), CSG Systems International, Datastream Systems, eBay, ECI Telecom, Electronic Processing, Harbinger (back in the black), Infospace.com, Integrated Circuit Systems, InterDigital (back in the black), Intrack Data International, Kronos, Lucent Technologies, Matsushita Electric Industrial, MDC, Micros, MTI, NEON Systems, NetSolve (back in the black), New Horizons Worldwide, Novadigm, Open Text, Pegasus Systems, Performance Technologies, Power Integrations, Printrak International, QRS, Remedy, Sapiens International, Scientific-Atlanta, SCO, Softworks, Sykes Enterprises, Synopsys, VeriSign (back in the black), Xionics, Xircom and Zebra Technologies.

Satisfactory figures came from Arrow Electronics, AT&T, Barra, Cambridge Technology Partners, Compaq, CSI, CTI Group Holdings (back in the black), Edify, Ibis Technology, Ikon Office Solutions (back in the black), Inacom (back in the black), MCI WorldCom, MDSI Mobile Data, Micro Warehouse, Paradyne (back in the black), Plexus, PSC, Sanmina, SCC Comms, SCI Systems, Scitex (back in the black), SCT (back in the black), Silicon Valley Group (back in the black), Stratasys, Sunquest Information Systems, Systar, Treev (back in the black - just) and Visio.

Mediocre returns came from Acsys, Allen Telecom (back in the black), Andrew, APAC, BMC Software, Cox Comms, Creative Technology, Deutsche Telekom, Gensym (back in the black-just), Ecsoft Group, EDS, Fujitsu, Gartner Group, Hitachi (back in the black), Imation, Ingram Micro, Mastech, Mediocre, Mentor Graphics, Metamor, Mitsubishi Electric, NetManage (back in the black), Quest Software, SBC Comms, Snyder Comms, Sony, SRS Labs, Tekelec, Telescan (back in the black) and Timeline.

Very poor results came from ACE*COMM, Align-Rite, Astea (back in the black-just), Caere, Cedara Software, Comshare, Cotelligent, CSP (just in the black), Evolving Systems (back in the black-just), Input Software, Nortel Networks (just in the black), Ross Systems, ScanSoft (but back in the black), Silicom and Versant (just in the black).

Other financial news included profit warnings from EMC, GartnerGroup, HP, Inacom, Lockheed Martin and NCR; a share split announcement from AOL; and an excellent market debut by Akamai Technologies.

Locally

ASAS (-25%)

CIH (+100%)

Datacentrix (+30.3%)

Grintek (+20.4%)

I-Fusion (-21.1%)

Infowave (-40%)

ITech (-21.7%)

Jasco (+57.1%)

MMW (+100%)

Prism (+34.8%)

Stella (+33.3%)

Whetstone (-27.3%)

Y2Ktec (-25%)

Internationally

ARM Holdings (+29.1%)

Aspen Technology (+33.8%)

California Micro Devices (+25%)

CE Software Holdings (+37.7%)

Geoworks (+39.3%)

i2 (+30.1%)

Inacom (-42.6%)

JDE (+29.8%)

Madge (-26.6%)

Network Solutions (+29%)

Olicom (+38%)

Proxim (+28.7%)

Sykes (+26.6%)

US Interactive (+66.7%)

I wonder if we have seen the last of the IT listings for 1999? The three "big" ones should have been Axiz, the largest privately-owned IT company in SA; ATIO, the third largest SA IT group; and the "new" Altron IT company, which has probably fallen by the wayside, following the deal with USKO. The timing for any of these, I would suggest, is not good, and most of the others contemplating a listing have already tacitly delayed any decision until next year at the earliest.