Promethean pens the biggest whiteboard deal in its history
INTERACTIVE whiteboard maker Promethean World has won a deal to supply 10,000 classrooms in the US district of Miami-Dade with its equipment, boosting the embattled firm’s shares 11 per cent yesterday to their highest level in more than a year.
The Blackburn-based company said the deal was one of the largest classroom contracts in its history.
As well as supplying the boards, Promethean will spend 18 months working with teachers in Miami-Dade, the fourth-largest school district in the US, to help them get the most out of the technology.
“[I]t may be one of the signs that the pressures on education technology budgets in the US are beginning to ease,” said chief executive Jim Marshall in a statement yesterday.
However, Promethean stuck to its financial outlook for the coming year, and said it still expects the market to be tough.
The firm, which is due to report full-year results next Thursday, has said that revenues for 2013 are expected to be around £141m, down 10 per cent on the previous year but ahead of market expectations, while adjusted earnings will be around £9m.
Shares in Promethean closed at 37.75p yesterday, the highest close since June 2012.
The company floated at 200p in March 2010 but has fought to sign contracts with education providers struggling to balance tight budgets.