Data#3 reports 16 percent earnings jump

Australian integrator Data#3 announced a net profit of $1.8 million for its first half ending December 2004, a 16 percent increase on the same period last year.

The company also reported total revenue of $94.9 million over the period, a 7.5 percent increase over the same period in 2003.

“In a relatively buoyant but competitive market, we reported our strongest ever first half at the top end of expectations and believe we are well placed for another strong year,” said John Grant, managing director at Data#3.

Product revenue increased four percent to $76.3 million, thanks to strong growth in software licensing which contributed $27.7 million to the total.

Sales of servers, networking and personal systems remained steady although there was a decline in enterprise infrastructure.

Based on strong performance in general IT and recruitment services, total service revenue increased 22 percent to $18.1 million.

Grant said services growth had been particularly strong, despite a decline in applications services due to the closure of three out of four of Data#3’s software businesses.

Services are expected to continue to grow throughout the rest of this financial year and into the next, Grant said.

“While nothing can be assumed, we are projecting second half performance at least in line with the first,” he said.