As reported last week (CI No 1,598) Norsk Data AS, the Norwegian mini-computer manufacturer cum systems integrator, has turned in pre-tax losses of $22m down from $71m in 1989, on sales that fell 5% at $406m. After a break-even result in the first six months, Norsk Data suffered a $22m pre-tax loss in the second half, destroying all hopes of a small profit for the year. President Erik Engebretsen blames the poor results on the UK and Sweden. Germany and Denmark are reported to have contributed the highest turnovers, while Norway continued to be the company’s strongest market. But Norsk Data’s Contec division, which produces computer systems for the newspaper industry, turned in a poor second half result, having ploughed considerable resources into the production of standardised systems. Analysts at Merrill Lynch & Co are pessimistic about the company’s prospects, saying that it will have to cut costs faster than sales are falling – with Norsk Data’s low order backlog a return to profitability is unlikely in the current year. The company’s order reserve at the end of 1990 was $33m, down 13% on 1989’s $37m. The $7m contract signed in the second half for the sale of computer systems to the Soviet Union does not show in the 1990 figures. In a stringent restructuring programme implemented over the last two years, Norsk Data has laid off almost a third of its staff – leaving 2,580, and is warning of further job losses this year – probably in the UK and Sweden. The company is still determined to make systems integration its main business Engebretsen says this transition partly explains the year’s inconsistent performance. Norsk Data is about to embark on a joint venture with the Thomainfor division of Thomson-CSF SA the new UK computer maintenance company will be majority held by Norsk Data.
