The US market seems to turn out to be a graveyard for far more British software companies than it benefits, and the latest victim of the unhappy trend is IBM software and services house Synapse Computer Services Plc. Synapse had a miserable six months thanks to a distinct lack of orders from its US subsidiary Synapse Inc. It made a pre-tax loss of UKP249,200 against a profit last time of UKP301,000 on turnover growing a respectable 15% to just under UKP5m. Synapse chairman and managing director Bill Williams has resigned as the group’s businesses come under the tighter management control of the group board. Under this new management Synapse intends to make a strenuous effort to get out of its loss-making position. Firstly, it says that its OS/VS Cobol conversion product will make a good contribution to group prospects over the next six months, as will an unspecified, because as yet unlaunched, product from Westwood Information Technology. In the longer term Synapse is hoping that the continent will prove an easier market to crack than the US as it sets up a branch office in Rome. It is also looking for growth from the acquisition of Beacon Management Services which takes it into the IBM mid-range market for the first time. The board says the current year is likely to be a difficult one but also described Synapse’s present pre-dicament as an unusual one which will be overcome.
