Johannesburg, South Africa-based Didata reported a wider net loss on ordinary activities before goodwill amortization and exceptional items of $6.3m for the six months ended March 31, 2003, compared to a loss of $3.2m in 2002, on total on revenue that fell 6.7% to $1.01bn. The total loss for the period was $194.9m, after goodwill write-offs, which amounted to $166.6m. This compares to a net loss of $1.89bn in 2002. Group revenue, which did not include associated companies, fell 6.4% to $977.8m. At the end of the period the company’s cash position had also fallen 53% to $292m.
The announcement follows a warning in March that Didata would fail to meet analyst expectations due to further falls in the Asian and US markets. These continue to prove the worst performing geographies, with revenue from its Asian operation declining 14% to $166.8m, revenue from the US declining 25% to $182.9m, and its seasonally affected operation in Australia was down 24.5% at $157.1m. Two bright spots for the business were the UK and African operations, with revenue from the UK up 27% at $114.1m, and sales in Africa up 8% in constant currency rates at $171m.
Didata has undertaken a major restructuring of its operations over the past year, and axed some 23% of its workforce. Last October, the company announced a management shake-up, with 10 board members resigning to take up positions on a new executive committee and US and regional boards. In the first half, headcount at Datacraft Asia fell 20%, headcount in Africa was down 10%, and in the US it fell 23%. In a statement chairman Jeremy Ord said: Markets look set to remain tough and we will continue to align our cost base to match economic conditions.
Source: Computerwire
