UK TV and satellite decoder manufacturer, Pace Micro Technology Plc, has again posted a loss. But the company – which shouldered 12.3m pounds in exceptional charges in its interim results in January, and reported losses for the year ended May 30 of 12.1m pounds – may have weathered the worst of the storm. Pace is seeing a revival of its UK business with the launch of digital TV in the UK, for which it has won set top contracts with two broadcasters BSkyB and BDB. But company revenues have yet to stabilize and yearly revenue fell 16.2% to 184m pounds. Company marketing director, Andrew Wallace, couldn’t explain or predict when revenue from the various geographical regions would stabilize, explaining that pioneering new technologies led to lumpy revenues. Pace is also still in the vacuum left by its previous management, which managed to run the company close to destruction, building up a huge stock of outdated inventory, while failing to pay key license fees on core MPEG technology. The company has gone some way to addressing these problems with the appointment of new senior management. A new chief executive, Malcolm Millar, joined last October, replacing Barry Ruberry who left the company in February 1997. Pace claims to be protected from the previous inventory problems by the use of a strict build to order program, and it says that this month it will produce the digital satellite decoders in volume. However, the company did not reveal how many set-tops it has been contracted to deliver to BSkyB for the forthcoming launch of UK digital TV.
