By the end of 2010, EDB plans to have one-third of its workforce in either nearshore or offshore locations. At present, the company’s global sourcing strategy is centered on Ukraine, where it has 600 staff following the acquisitions earlier this year of local players Infopulse Ukrania and Miratech. This represents about 13% of a total workforce of approximately 4,650.
EDB said that by 2008 it plans to have 1,000 staff in the Ukraine. The company also revealed that it will be establishing an offshore unit in Asia-Pacific, probably in India, by the end of this year. Rumors in the Norwegian press over the last few months have suggested that EDB is on the verge of completing the buyout of an unnamed Indian IT vendor, although no official confirmation has been forthcoming.
The announcement of such ambitious expansion plans comes just a month after EDB’s Nordic rival TietoEnator announced that it was doubling its Indian headcount with the purchase of R&D provider Fortuna Technologies. TietoEnator currently has about 15% of its workforce in low-cost locations, but is ultimately aiming to grow this to 40%.
EDB also reported its results for the third quarter of 2007. In the three months to the end of September, the company made net profit of NOK 85m ($15.8m), compared to a loss of NOK 46m ($8.6m) in the same period of the previous year, when EDB took a one-off restructuring charge of NOK 144m ($26.8m). Third-quarter revenue was up 7% on 2006 at NOK 1.5bn ($272.6m).
At an organic level, EDB’s revenue rose 4%, thanks to the company’s continuing expansion in Sweden where organic growth hit 14%, and strong performances from its solutions and application services operations. The solutions business unit, which provides software and consulting services to the Nordic financial services sector, reported revenue of NOK 329m ($61.2m), with organic growth at 10%, while application services sales grew 16% organically to NOK 248m ($46.2m).
