Woking, Surrey based Alphameric Plc’s end of year results published yesterday showed record turnover and profits. The company, which saw 98.6% of its recent UKP9m rights issue taken up, has enjoyed sound performances in its three main division: keyboards, viewdata/retail systems and dealing systems. The keyboard division achieved a combined turnover of UKP9.2m, with the French subsidiary Alphameric SA contributing UKP2.1m. The French factory will not be contributing much for the next month or so as it was damaged by fire last week – the company says that damage to equipment was minimal and plans to set up temporary operations in a local printing school. The new Andover factory has been completed and the company says the first keyboards can be expected off the line later this summer. Last year’s data broadcast startup pushed turnover for the viewdata/retail systems to just over the UKP10.3m mark, an 87% increase on last year’s figure. The data broadcast technique involves sending commercial data via spare capacity on TV transmitters. The group has attempted to strengthen its position in this market through an agreement between Bishopsgate Systems Ltd, formerly Bishopsgate Terminals Ltd, and BBC Enterprises Ltd allowing Bisopsgate provide access to the BBC Datacast’s transmission capacity. The company has also completed the bulk of a contract with Coral betting offices and now has five high street offices running pilot systems. The Halifax Building Society has also chosen Bishopsgate for a new data broadcast system with a potential project value of UKP3m to UKP5m. The company said that though turnover rose by 87% first half margins were depressed by data broadcast startup costs. On the other hand Bishopsgate’s financial systems division was comparatively unaffected by last October’s crash, enjoying turnover of UKP7.3m, the same as the previous Big Bang year. The division recently launched a new maintenance operation which the company hopes will generate up to UKP1m in turnover. The year also saw the group active on the acquisition front. Real Time Developments Ltd, which was acquired in April last year for UKP1.5m in shares, has begun shipping its new local area network product Clearway 2000. PC Communications Ltd, paid for in a UKP1m cash plus another UKP3m to UKP5m if it performs to target over the next year or three, proved profitable throughout the year, particularly through sales of its combined hardware-software telecommunications package Breakout, soon to be upgraded to Mass Breakout. The purchase of IGG Systems Ltd for UKP864,000 last February gave Alphameric the facility to send data on IBA television blanking lines which it uses to update prices daily at Marks & Spencer stores. The company,which lost UKP758,000 last year has made a profitable contribution to the group since it was acquired. It has sold an electronic sign system to London Underground in a contract potentially worth UKP2m in total. Finally there is a provisional earn-out takeover agreement with intelligent data capture systems specialist Tantus Microsystems, which is likely to be triggered in about March next year.
