Sema Group Plc, the Anglo-French computer-services group, has launched its long-heralded drive into the US market with plans for a big increase in its operations based at its US headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. It aims to expand through a combination of organic group and acquisitions. The company clearly has targets in mind and promised details of partnerships and acquisitions over the next 12 months. The expansion is based around its telecommunications and outsourcing services and it aims to target mobile telecommunications customer care and billing software markets. By expanding out presence in the US market, we are fulfilling our strategy of becoming a single global provider of IT services to multi-national Corporations, said chief executive Pierre Bonelli. In February, Sema reported a 33% increased in annual profits to 37m poundson revenue up 36.8% to 927m pounds and telecommunications had leapt in importance from 9% to 13% of revenue (CI No 3,108). Legislative banking problems had prevented it from making major in-roads into the US market but now these are out of the way the company aims to become a major player in the most valuable world market.
