November 12, 2001
Immediate
Release
HIGHLIGHTS
|
Financial Summary
| Unaudited Consolidated Results |
30 September, 2001 HK$'000 |
30 September, 2000 HK$'000 |
Net Change % |
| Turnover |
129,294
|
104,694
|
23.5
|
| Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation |
13,037
|
9,338
|
39.61
|
| Profit from Operation |
11,278
|
13,962
|
-19.22
|
| Less: Finance Cost, Diminution of value in investment & share of profit/(loss) from associate companies |
(30,861)
|
(3,816)
|
-708.73
|
| Profit attributable to shareholders |
(20,060)
|
10,155
|
-297.54
|
| Earnings per
share Basic Fully diluted |
(1.97 cents) (1.97 cents) |
1.32 cents 1.41 cents |
-249.24 -239.72 |
(12 November, 2001, HONG KONG) - Excel Technology International Holdings Limited ('Excel' or the 'Company', together with its subsidiaries, the 'Group'; stock code: 8048) is pleased to announce its unaudited consolidated results for the nine months ended 30 September 2001.
For the nine months ended 30th September, 2001, the unaudited turnover of the Group was HK$129,294,000 which was 23.5% more than the corresponding period in 2000. Sales of enterprise software products and customized development in this quarter was more than the corresponding period in 2000 by about 15%. Complimentary resale of hardware and software increased by about 44%. The remaining turnover was comprised of consulting and systems integration services and maintenance services. With effect from July 2001, the Group started to consolidate the accounts of i21 Limited ("i21"), in which the Group had increased its interest to 80.1%. For this reporting period, the revenue contribution from i21 was not significant, yet the management expects increased contribution from i21 in the future.
Profit from operations for the nine months ended 30th September, 2001 was HK$11,278,000 which was 19.22% less than the corresponding period in 2000. The reduction in profit from operations was due to the increase in the proportion of complimentary resale of computer hardware and software in turnover, which was of lower margin compared to software sales. Furthermore, the Group is still in an expansion mode in Singapore and China and thus additional resources were deployed.
The Group made a provision for diminution in the value of the shares in a listed company for an amount of HK$25,462,000. The shares were received by the Group for settlement of the consideration on disposal of iClaims21 Limited and payment for software customization services rendered to that company. As a result of this provision, the Group recorded a loss attributable to shareholders of HK$20,060,000 for the reporting period.
The Group completed the plan to combine the HRMS enterprise software with iHR21 Service into a company called HR21 Holdings Limited (HR21). Announcement had been made on 26th October, 2001 regarding the transfer of the HRMS software from Excel to HR21. The purpose is to create a focused vertical product company to develop the human resource management related market in the Greater China and ASEAN regions.
During the period and subsequent thereto, the Group repurchased 83,340,000 shares. Details of these share repurchase transactions had been announced on the website of the GEM.
Peggy Chan, CEO of Excel, said "The first nine-month period of the year closed with an extended period of receding spending in the global IT market. The situation is unlikely going to improve for the remaining term of the year. The Group achieved growth in the turnover because of its geographical expansion strategy into China. The Beijing team successfully won a major contract from a major state-owned bank. Our China teams are promoting solutions in loans and securities trading and we had made major in-road in winning non-banking MNC clients who seek to establish in China. To this end, the Shekou software center will play a significant role as an outsourcing center for MNC clients. In anticipation of business expansion in China, we will invest additional financial and human resources in the China operations."
"The creation of HR21 Holdings Limited is a step to consolidate the Group’s ASP service and enterprise software after the acquisition of i21 Limited. We aim at strengthening the product and service offering and create a new company focusing on human resource management system and support services. This will give our customer a clear picture of our product strategy and allow for more efficient use of resources", said Ms. Chan.
-End-