Compagnie des Machines Bull SA expects to attain the objective of a net profit for 1995 set by its board of directors early this year, said chief executive Jean-Marie Descarpentries on Thursday following the company’s first board meeting with its new shareholder triumvirate – Motorola Inc, NEC Corp and France Telecom. In a communique, the company says it expects to report a substantial revenue for December. Marc Meyer, member of Bull’s strategic management group led by Thierry Breton, told Computergram that the impact from the three weeks of transport strikes in France will be limited – we are still delivering and still billing sales. The biggest effect is on Bull France, where contracts should have been signed with three state bodies in the pensions and social security area at the beginning of December, and the client requested they be put back to early next year – representing $50m to $60m, 10% of the December total for Bull France. The Angers factory, making personal computer boards and finished machines, has been largely unaffected. Last year, France accounted for 37% of Bull’s total sales. This year, says Meyer, the best region for Bull is Europe, outside France, so that French business is forecast to fall to 30% of the total. The year-end result is to be announced in February.
