Once-tiny Amsterdam-quoted optical storage equipment maker Docdata NV saw strong gains in both its 1991 earnings and turnover, figures that in reality more closely reflect those for the second half of Optical Data Storage Company BV, the optical disk maker it took over in August last year. The takeover which was accompanied by the creation of 15m new shares of which the management of Optical Data has a major holding – was in fact a vehicle through which the much larger and more profitable Optical Data could easily get a stock exchange listing. For 1991, the enlarged Docdata BV saw net profit equivalent to $3m against a loss of $2.9m in 1990 on sales of $14.9m from a mere $12,000 the year before. The company now has nearly 300 employees in subsidiaries in the US, Germany and France. J van Gerwen, general manager of Docdata, says the company, which was previously involved in optical data storage, has been temporarily transformed into a supplier of compact disks for the audio industry – Optical Data Storage’s main activity – but sees a strong market for CD-I Compact Disk Interactive disks in the home country of pioneer Philips Electronics NV. In the last nine months we have sold more CD-I disks than we ever sold of CD-ROM disks, he claims. All its previous activities have been grouped within the new Docdata Research BV division in Tilburg, and Gerwen says it has stopped the manufacture of optical disk drivers and devices in favour of supplying materials and services on a contract basis. He adds that the company, which expects further increases in turnover and profits for the current year, is still on the look out to expand its business by acquisition.
