In a trading statement on the six months to October 31, the Reading, UK-based company said that orders from the public sector were up 50% on the same period last year, driven by a 11m pound ($16.5m) contract win with the State of Victoria in Australia. Anite said it plans to reduce its 900-strong public sector workforce by 780 in the second half of the financial year, as recent acquisitions have left it with several duplicated activities.
The company said its outlook in the travel and telecommunications business units is reasonable, with strong demand for testing services for 3G systems. It said that testing currently accounts for 93% of its telecoms unit’s revenue, and it grew by 16% during the first half of the fiscal year. However, demand for the billing products it gained through its acquisition of Calculus in December 2000 remains slow.
Anite said the outlook for its consulting business is uncertain with solid business with the German Army offset by pricing pressure in the Netherlands and Germany. The company, which has been one of the most acquisitive IT services companies in the last 12 months also said that it has no plans for further purchases in the next six months.
Source: Computerwire
