Persona Group Plc, like its main rival Azlan Group Plc, has posted healthy year-end figures for its first year since floating on the London Stock Exchange. But the Chessington, Surrey-based networking products, training and services group’s chairman Wayne Channon is confident that the similarities will end there. Azlan went on to make a number of acquistions on the continent and issued a profits warning as its profits tumbled in its UK operations. Persona appears to be treading slightly more carefully, preferring to consolidate at home before venturing abroad. Pre-tax profits at the group grew by 18% to ú2.1m, after a charge of ú147,000 for the costs of flotation last March (CI No 2,385), on turnover that rose 38% to ú31.5m. The networking products division, Persona Plc, has increased its suppliers to 22, from 15 at the half year. This includes four suppliers added this year, Intel Corp’s video conferencing technology, Palindrome Corp’s storage products, Bay Networks Inc’s internetworking products and Sonix Ltd’s Integrated Services Digital Network products. Sonix, based in Gloucestershire was added just last week, and is Persona’s first supplier from outside the US. Persona now claims to be the only distributor to represent the top three internetworking product manufacturers in the world, Cisco Systems Inc, 3Com Corp and Bay Networks. The last of those is now returning to its position as a reliable supplier after minor problems related to the merger last year. Pre-tax profits at the division were up 25% to ú1.9m from turnover up 39% to ú29.7m. Orders are up significantly on last year, but Persona is not claiming the credit for this. Channon puts it down to customers with large orders that want delivery phased over several months. Persona now has more than 2,000 resellers on its books, up from 1,300 a year ago. The division has added a consultancy arm that has proved profitable from the outset, according to Channon. Faculty, the training and services division, reported pre-tax profits up 35% at ú298,000, from turnover that rose 18% to ú1.9m. A managing director, Rob Noble, was appointed last September, and he is credited with solving the division’s earlier recruiting problem. Channon was keen to stress the level of repeat business in the division, up to 84% from 74% a year ago. Faculty sells its training to individuals, rather than departments. This means that the customers are extremely choosy, according to Channon, and the level of repeat business is carefully monitored. Faculty now has a World Wide Web site and is planning to expand the Internet side of its training business. Faculty is still planning expansion in the north of England, and already has a toe in the water in Manchester, according to Channon. The group’s headcount is now at 102, 80 in Persona and the balance at Faculty. Persona recruits new sales staff every quarter, and working on commission, they have to show a gross profit within two months. Acquisitions look highly likely this year, especially in the area of training, to expand the division geographically. Channon ruled out the possibility of buying a supplier, as this would cause trouble with the remainder. Finance director Dick Haynes anticipated cash balances of between ú1.3m and ú1.5m by year-end, around what they were at the end of 1994. The group envisages capital expenditure on warehousing, equipment and training of less than ú500,000 for the year. Channon described the start to the year as what we expected, and with margins being measured daily is confident of solid growth, both organic and through acquisitions. The board will be recommending a final dividend of 2.6 pence, making a total for the year of 3.2 pence.
