Phonelink Plc, the electronic information services company, had another dismal year with net losses down only slightly from 6.7m pounds to 6.1m pounds on revenue that was virtually unchanged at 4.3m pounds. This Birkenhead, Merseyside company has been a major disappointment to the market and shares, which had soared to 400p in 1974 on giddy hopes of a boom in online information, found little enthusiasm just above the 50p mark after news of the results. The company is now pinning its faith in new management as Graham Ramsey has been brought in as chief executive from United News and Media Corp and has already cut average monthly cash spending from 402,000 pounds to 160,000 pounds. Now the emphasis is on increasing revenue and Ramsey’s approach is to concentrate on high-value customers. On the positive side, the company has an interesting range of products and, with 9.3m pounds in the bank, can leak cash for a while yet. The best results came from its longest established business DataCare, which automatically searches British Telecommunications Plc databases for telephone numbers, and saw a 27% increase in revenue. But Ramsey concedes that progress has been slow at its main division, Tel-me, which provides access to business information. They also plan to burst onto the electronic commerce scene later this year. Ramsey’s recruitment has bought the company time – but unless he produces results quickly, the patience of the market may soon run out.
