Microvitec Plc, the Bradford-based computer peripherals manufacturer, managed to begin the slow reversal of the company into profit by exiting the year profitably on a month by month basis. It only just missed returning to profit in the second six months by making a loss of UKP1,240, down from a loss in the first half of UKP1.4m. Over the year as a whole, the company came in with a pre-tax loss of UKP2.4m against a profit last time of UKP1.3m on turnover down 27% to just over UKP23m. Exceptional items totted up to UKP785,000 and included rationalisation costs of UKP435,000 and losses on a disputed contract in the US of UKP350,000. The latter dispute is ongoing but Robert Adams, sales, marketing and technical director, says that there will be no further financial impact on Microvitec. The company has three main divisions now: monitors and terminals, which contribute 85% of revenues and MultiMedia and Communications, which between them make up the rest of the turnover. In the communications division, Vitec incurred start-up costs borne in the second half but is taking orders and growing fast and is expected to be profitable in the current financial year.
Multimedia workstations
Because of the strong relationships between the three divisions, Adams was loth to forecast a long-term business split between the three divsions, preferring to comment on the company’s geographical diversification. The German operation Microvitec GmbH was profitable last year and Adams expects tremendous improvement in revenue in the current financial year. This subsidiary now has responsibility for central Europe, while the French distributor Infoco, in which Microvitec has a 35% stake, will be making an aggressive push with the large monitor products as well as with multimedia workstations. Adams thinks that Microvitec will end this financial year with 60% of sales in the UK, and 40% in the international marketplace. However, this estimate could be altered in favour of international sales by Toronto-based Silcom’s order book for North American markets. Microvitec’s three divisions appear to be bubbling over with new products: the terminals business is picking up thanks to the Series 9 ANSI products addressed for the DEC marketplace. The 3220 is a multi-sessioning, multi-windowing product that is gaining acceptance in large corporates. Aside from VT emulation products, the company also has the 4605 graphics terminal up its sleeve, which it believes will be the least expensive terminal on the market for the Uniplex environment. Adams has been surprised by the swift take-up of Microvitec’s multimedia digital audio and video interactive device – David card. Aside from sales into the training and point of sales markets, Adams has been impressed by the weird and wonderful applications software developers are devising with the product. One application under development in the UK is for the use multimedia in court rooms to enable the jury to see exhibits, the defendant’s face and additional textual information. Furthermore, Vitec Communications is to launch ISDN cards to go into personal computers. To be launched in April, the product will be tied to a specific application that will, says Adams, make all personal computer users want ISDN. But, as for that surprising 8% stake Microvitec took in Logitek Plc last month (CI No 1,615), Adams declined to comment on the matter.
