Idion`s earnings soar

By Iain Scott for Idion Technology Holdings

Johannesburg, 17 Mar 2004

Idion Technology Holdings` earnings rocketed from 1.4c to 10.5c a share in the year to 31 December 2003.

MD Nicolaas Vlok attributes the improvement to a strong performance from Idion`s sole subsidiary, US-based Vision Solutions, as well as the absence of the loss-making Idion Solutions, which was sold in the previous financial year.

The group has released its results in both rand and dollar terms. Idion financial director Willem Richard says the significant fluctuation in the value of the local currency against the dollar has made the rand figures incomparable with previous results.

The weighted average conversion rate for the year was R7.34 to the dollar, versus R10.16 previously. The closing conversion rate was R6.67 versus R8.58 a year before.

While rand-denominated revenue dropped by 27% to R112.17 million from R153.94 million previously, in dollars, it rose by 11% from $29.48 million to $32.8 million.

Maintenance revenue enjoyed the biggest rise, increasing by 25% to $15.08 million, which Vlok says is an indication of good customer retention.

Customer wins

[VIDEO]A pre-tax profit of R0.92 million ($0.13 million) compares with a previous loss of R39.36 million ($3.87 million), while the group incurred a net loss of R4.06 million ($0.55 million) compared with a loss of R22.5 million ($2.21 million) previously.

Cash on the balance sheet has improved from R44.55 million ($5.19 million) to R69.45 million ($10.41 million).

Vision Solutions CFO Tim Keithahn says the past year was the second year of profitability at Vision after a bad year in 2001, with cash generation being one of the key highlights.

Vision president and chief operating officer Alan Arnold says the company won 256 new customers during the period, with growth in central Europe and the Nordic countries being particularly encouraging.

The group is expecting more wins after the first components of the multi-platform high-availability product, Orion, is released for general availability next month, with various releases of other components scheduled from now until the first quarter of 2005.

"We enter 2004 with a strong balance sheet, virtually no third-party debt and are well positioned to finance both our operations and our investments in research and development, infrastructure and our indirect sales channel to support future growth," says Richard.