The systems and software group SD-Scicon Plc is still suffering from the costs of restructuring and rationalisation following the merger of the two companies, and this has resulted in a pre-tax loss of UKP1.0m for the interim period. SD-Scicon now has four European subsidiaries operating under a European Board to focus on core software and systems business, while in the US the business has been pared down to three operations: financial services, defence consultancy and vehicle emission testing. This has led to the disposal of small software operations in Delaware and California and two divisions of SD Financial. A new subsidiary for financial services has been set up in the US around the old Warrington Associates acquisition: called Warrington Financial Services, it is centred in Minneapolis with a reduced site in Birmingham, Alabama. Within the European side of the business the Flight Simulation division of SD is up for sale as it has been deemed too hardware-oriented to fit into the group. Turnover for SD-Scicon rose 82% to UKP142m in the six months, indicating that business within remaining divisions is proceeding satisfactorily with the exceptions of SCS in Germany and SD in the UK both of which underperformed. The group looks forward to a steady second half, and is particularly confident about its long-term prospects in the Single European Market when it arrives in 1992.
