Hoskyns Group Plc, the London W1-based computer services company in which a 70% stake was recently taken over from Plessey Overseas Ltd by Cap Gemini Sogeti SA, has reported good year end results with pre-tax profits up 13% at UKP17m on turnover up 18% at UKP223m. Chairman Geoff Unwin reports that although the computer services sector has experienced a difficult year, reflected in Hoskyns’ margins which fell to 7.7% from 8.1%, the company’s organic revenues grew by 9%. UK revenues were UKP194m, accounting for 87% of the group’s business – last year the UK contributed 88.5% with UKP167m. Activities abroad have been increased, particularly in Germany – now accounting for 5.4% of group revenues, up from 2.4% last year (the rest of mainland Europe accounts for 5.5%) – with the acquisition of TechnoData in October (CI No 1,529), and the company has been developing its activities in North America. Distribution and Retailing has shown the largest market growth over the year, up 76%, which Unwin attributes to the buoyancy of the German market. Although the IBM market produced revenues of UKP93.5m, up 10% on last year, its group contribution was down from 45% to 42%; DEC revenue contribution was also down, to 24% from 26%. Hoskyns has seen a strong return on its 1989 acquisition of the Instruction Set it saw UKP8m revenues from the open systems market – 4% of total revenue. The relative contributions of Hoskyns’ three core activities – Facilities Management, Ssystems Integration and Professional Services – has remained unchanged, with facilities management accounting for 48% of group revenue. But while 24 new facilities management contracts have been signed over the year including Habitat, Mothercare and British Rail Engineering, the division will be losing UKP20m revenue from two major clients the London Residuary Board, which is coming to the end of its life, and GEC Plc, Hoskyn’s former majority owner. Says Geoff Unwin, the contract with the London Residuary Board, worth UKP14m, was originally designed to reduce – some of the activities are being taken up by the users themselves and some are just being discontinued. And, now that it no longer owns Hoskyns, GEC has discontinued its facilities management contracts and taken these activities back in house. Unwin doesn’t anticipate much material growth in the coming year, with the UKP20m lost facilities management revenue to make up, alongside the continuing economic downturn, but says that Hoskyns is well positioned to take advantage of the increasing demand for open systems and facilities management. Under its new ownership, Hoskyns will remain a listed UK company at least until late 1992 – enabling it to continue to finance acquisitions by issuing its own shares as consideration. A final dividend of 1.65 pence per share has been proposed for a total of 2.40p for the year, up 14%.
