Hills Holdings on track with JD Edwards rollout

Hills Holdings has reported its $32.9 million rollout of a JD Edwards enterprise resource planning system is on track for the first portion to 'go live' next year.

The firm, which owns or has stakes in about 32 companies nationally, has spent $15 million to date rolling out the new ERP system.

The system is expected to hit the firm's corporate operations, as well as its Lifestyle & Sustainability group in the second quarter of 2013.

The Lifestyle & Sustainability group includes Hills, Hills Eco, Hills Healthcare Equipment, plumbing suppler LWG and ladder maker Bailey.

The project is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2015.

OptiComm's long-term winnings

OptiComm - which rolls fibre optic networks into greenfield estates - won work in a "record number" of new housing estates in the year ended June 30, Hills said.

Hills has a 50 percent stake in OptiComm.

"Although the results for OptiComm were slightly above break even, the future profitability of this business will improve as the recurring revenue rises as the greenfield estates are built out," Hills noted in financial statements.

Hills buys Lan1

In the hours prior to announcing its full year results, Hills Holdings snapped up IT systems distributor Lan1.

The transaction is expected to settle in October. If it is completed, Lan1 will likely remain a standalone business, but its expertise will be leveraged across Hills' Electronics & Communications group of companies.