SDX Business Systems Plc, the UK-based supplier of private branch digital exchanges, has completed its maiden year on the London Stock Exchange with net profits are up 38% for the year to 2.9m pounds while revenues rose 37% to 45.3m pounds; added to which the board has announced a confident first quarter for 1998. SDX has carved out a niche for itself in the small to medium sized business market. The firm’s Index product range, co-developed over a three year period with Bay Networks Inc of the US, specifically addresses the current convergence between voice and data for telephony systems. The company claims to have leapt from 11th place to third place (behind Siemens AG and British Telecommunications Plc) in the UK small to medium sized business segment, covering systems with 25 to 400 extensions. Sales and marketing director Jeremy Cooke feels that the company’s success is substantially down to its ability to focus on such a distinct area, while its competitors are generally divisions of a more diverse company. SDX thinks its Index product range is technologically on a par with anything in the world, and the company is seeking the right partner to help address the North American market, currently dominated by Lucent Technologies Inc. The board has recommended a final dividend of 1.6 pence, bringing the total for the year to 2.4 pence.
