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Minorplanet now on track for growth
Eric Barkas City Editor THE turnaround is said to be complete and now the focus is on growth at Minorplanet Systems, the vehicle tracking company.
Growth means pushing sales and marketing capabilities, improving the product, adding clients with larger fleets to the company's strong presence in the small fleet sector and driving earnings overseas.
Yesterday's full year figures were a start.
Underlying taxable profits were 1m compared with losses of 19.2m in the previous year, which was hit by 14.8m of exceptionals. Stripping out one-off items, profits were 1.3m versus a 3.9m deficit.
Leeds-based Minorplanet completed an 11.2m fundraising and capital restructuring last Novem-ber.
That gave it the stability to retain and attract customers.
Since then costs have been cut by 3m year-on-year. Jobs are down by 13 per cent to 319.
New products have been introduced and more are promised in 2007.
Chief executive Terry Donovan says more customers are renewing deals and others are attracted by new products.
He sets great store on getting close to his customers and working out exactly what they require.
Minorplanet started out with a bang then suffered from ill-advised expansion in the US.
Revenues in the year to August 31 were pretty flat at 23.8m but gross margins improved 7 per cent to 70 per cent.
Overseas, there was growth in Ireland and Australia. The Netherlands broke even.
Germany made losses after management problems said to have been address-ed.
In the UK, the company claims to be the market leader in systems that allow clients to closely monitor the movements of transport and make appropriate savings.
It has between 40,000 and 45,000 data collection units in use.
Chairman David Perry is stepping down at the annual meeting next month to be replaced by Lars McBride, a non-executive with a background in corporate finance and business investment.
eric.barkas@ypn.co.uk
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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