Chessington-based Persona Group Plc’s interim results demonstrate that it is more than capable of fending off nearest competitor Azlan Group Plc. The distributor of personal computer networking products, training and computer services saw pre-tax profit rise 22% to UKP1.0m on turnover up 34% to UKP15.0m in the six months to June 30th, and proposes a maiden interim dividend of 0.68p per share. Persona Plc, one half of the group, hit its target gross margins and gained four new suppliers: Cisco Systems Inc, Emerald Systems Inc, Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc and Tripplite Manufacturing Company Ltd. Persona has also added 500 new resellers to its books, bringing the total to 1,800. The network products distribution arm of the company also plans to expand its operation by moving into the open systems market later this year, with network products aimed specifically at the internet, says Wayne Channon, the company’s chairman and managing director. Channon says that gaining key players in the network supply market will be far more profitable than going for large volumes of suppliers. Persona distributes intelligent hubs, the biggest supplier of which is Synoptics Communications Inc and internetworking and router products mainly from Cisco Systems Inc. It also provides support services to resellers, including education, training, consultancy and design. It currently has a supplier base of 15 manufacturers. Faculty, the other half, offers specialist training to end users of network and communications products, and also outperformed expectations. The company has now opened a central London site in Covent Garden and is currently looking to expand in the north of England. Faculty doubled its office space at Chessington and is now a Microsoft Corp training centre. Channon anticipates Faculty’s current growth rate will warrant the appointment of a managing director for the division this year, though no name yet.
