One year after what looked like the beginnings of a recovery in fiscal 1995 from the trouble in which it found itself back in 1992 (CI No 2,872), Radius Plc’s pre-tax profits have slipped again in 1996, down 12% to 1.6m pounds on revenue that grew 5% to 27m pounds. Pre-tax profits in 1995 had grown by 25% to the posted 1.8m pounds. Mike Roberts, chairman of the Hull UK-based systems integrator, said it was disappointing to report reduced profits in what has been a successful year. He said the main reason for the decline was two-fold: one of Radius’s largest North American customers, Canadian department store chain T Eatons Ltd, has filed for court protection from its creditors – the Canadian equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy – of which Radius is one. Radius was hit with a 300,000 pound charge as a result. It also sustained a loss of 150,000 pounds from a change in foreign exchange rates, which it will include with this quarter’s figures. Radius’ best performance came from its Public Sector division, which grew 34%; and its software packages arm, up by 30%. Since the interim, Radius’s Retail arm has appointed a South African distributor and made headway with it sales of its RSA software over there. This is in line with its strategy to broaden its existing sales channels overseas in the 12 months ahead. Radius will pay a dividend of 1.1 pence, taking the total for the year to 1.65p, up 22% from last time.
