I-Fusion and Bidvest concluded an agreement giving Bidvest majority shareholding of the I-Fusion group. Bidvest will make a R50 million investment in I-Fusion, which will remain in its present structure as a listed entity. The inclusion of Bidvest IT will add to the impetuous growth of I-Fusion.
At the same time I-Fusion Holdings Limited has announced its financial results for 1999, showing a 20 percent increase in turnover over the period. However, the company also fell victim to poor market conditions in the second half of the year, resulting in its operating income dropping from R17 million to R206 614.
Ron Sackstein, MD of I-Fusion views this deal as a positive one: "I-Fusion now forms part of a company that has a listed value of R16 billion. I-Fusion will give Bidvest the opportunity to create a platform and base for Bidvest`s ongoing e-commerce and internet capabilities. Our opportunities are near limitless as the Bidvest Group of companies become I-Fusion customers."
Sackstein says the group has undergone a shift in focus over the last financial year, which saw the group incurring additional costs. "At the lead of market trends, I-Fusion decided to invest in advanced technology such as its command centre, as well as establishing a strong brand name. This was coupled with losses suffered at the Cape Town and Systems Integration division."
The networking division experienced a growth in turnover of 60 percent with an increase of 13 percent in operating profits. This division has partnerships with the likes of Cisco, 3Com, Krone, Lucent, Nortel and Novell which adds significant value to the networking enterprise. These alliances allow I-Fusion Networks to supply end-to-end solutions, local and wide area networks as well as positioning them for the integration of voice, video and data.
I-Fusion admits that the services division has not performed as expected, reporting a minimal loss. This is mainly due to the command centre taking longer to establish than expected.
"Management has been restructured in the Systems Integration division to focus on relationships with key business partners. The division has also been refocused on growth markets such as Storage Area Networks, CRM, high-end storage solutions and convergent technologies," says Sackstein. Although the division is set on achieving its full potential in the year to come, it did report losses.
According to Sackstein, I-Fusion`s strategic change in direction, rebranding and focus on leading edge technology has set the foundation for a stronger than ever operating ability. "The market acceptance of the command centre and enterprise management should contribute to a successful year ahead," concludes Sackstein.
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