Light at the end of the tunnel for Psion as it cuts its losses
TECHNOLOGY group Psion more than halved its full-year pre-tax loss as it made huge cost savings.
Losses in 2009 were £3m, compared with £7.6m the year before. Sales fell 15 per cent to £170m, hurt by the impact of foreign exchange movements. However, the company’s operating margin moved from a negative in the first half to positive territory in the second.
The firm, which provides a range of handheld computers, achieved cost savings of £46m which it says will drive earnings growth this year.
Chief executive John Conoley said: “We will be looking for some modest growth, perhaps accelerating in 2011, due to new product launches.
“We have had some good wins. Last week we took a $1.6m [£1.1m] order in Argentina. Additionally one of our distributors placed an order of €1.2m [£1.1m] this week. So there’s quite a few good moves, that weren’t so evident at this time a year ago, where improved market activity is turning into real business for us.”
Meanwhile, Psion agreed a deal with BT for the telecoms giant to resell some of its handheld computers. BT will sell hardware to its customers in the UK, Germany and France.