AEA Technology Plc, the UK-based technology services and engineering software company spun off from the Atomic Energy Authority, will focus on three strategic divisions, batteries, engineering software and nuclear science, at the expense of its computer aided design operation.
The company has the patent on the lithium ion battery used in camcorders, cellular phones and PCs. The patent runs out next year, after twenty years, so the company is turning to specialized military batteries. Together with Japanese battery manufacturers Mitsubishi and Japan Storage, it is building a factory in Thurso, Scotland to develop batteries for battlefield communications systems which are half the weight of conventional models.
AEA’s battery division seems in good shape. The company has recently won a $80m contract with the British Army to supply the batteries for its new field communications device. AEA is also working on plastic batteries that could change the shape of laptops and cell phones. The polymer batteries, which will take several years to bring to market, can be incorporated in the plastic casing, thus reducing the thickness of the machine.
AEA has moved away from design software, licensing the rights for its graphic user interface to Cadcentre, another UK engineering technology company in April (CI No 3,643) as well as its PlantView software, used in setting up plants. Proctor says that the company prefers to keep the rights rather than sell, but competitors in computer aided design products may start to watch AEA more carefully.
AEA’s financial results were modest, with revenue up 16% at $572.7m and profit before tax up 3% to $47.7m. Finance director Ray Proctor blamed the oil industry’s low prices for the lack of investment in process simulation software, used for establishing plants and running ‘what if’ scenarios. The mergers in the industry, such as British Petroleum with Amoco, also hit AEA’s top line, with rationalization undermining investment in new systems.
