AGM Statement
22 May 2003 - 5:00PM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:4115L
ITNET PLC
22 May 2003
22 April 2003
ITNET Plc
AGM Statement
Forward order book of #280m at the end of April 2003
At the Annual General Meeting of ITNET plc to be held later today, Lord
Crickhowell, Chairman, will make the following statement:
"2002 was another year of strong performance for ITNET. The excellent results
achieved for the year ended 31 December 2002 were ahead of market expectations
with the delivery of strong profit growth against a climate of continuing
economic uncertainty. This performance was driven by our strong position in the
Public Sector where continued demand for ITNET's services in the Local
Government market resulted in a 20% increase in our Local Government revenue in
2002, well ahead of industry growth rates. I would like to thank Bridget Blow
and the entire ITNET team for this achievement.
"Since the year-end we have had an encouraging first quarter, securing contract
wins with both new and existing customers, across the Public and Commercial
Sectors. Our order book remains strong at #280m at 30 April 2003.
"We have continued to maintain our strong position in the Local Government
market, signing new business worth #50m over ten years. The value of our
long-term pipeline continues to be significant and we are currently bidding for
a number of large contracts. We expect to be in a position to announce further
wins at our half-year results. New contracts signed this year include:
* A new Public Sector partnership with The London Borough of Richmond
upon Thames for ICT, consultancy and e-government services. As announced
in February, the contract is worth #36m over ten years.
* A new #1.6m, 18-month contract with Buckinghamshire County Council to
assist with the Council's programme of business transformation. Based on
the mySAP Business Suite, ITNET is to provide the Council with an
enterprise-wide solution.
* A new 'joint working' partnership with Lichfield and Staffordshire
Moorlands District Councils to provide ICT and e-government services. The
contract is worth #2.5m over five years.
* A new SAP services contract with the City of Sunderland worth #1.3m
over one year.
* Colchester Borough Council has agreed funding for an extension of scope to
the existing contract. The revised scope, worth #4.6m over 3 years, will
cover the implementation of a contact centre, including Customer
Relationship Management (CRM), website and intranet services, change
management and integration.
"In recognition of our market leading position in SAP, ITNET has been awarded '
SAP Partner of the Year for Outstanding Contribution, 2002' by SAP UK Ltd, on
the grounds of ITNET's exceptional performance across the areas of sales,
marketing and business development.
"A significant driver in Local Government is Shared Strategic Partnerships
(SSPs), where groups of authorities band together to look for a partner to help
them transform their organisations to deliver joined-up services.
Transformation and Modernising Government are still major requirements in SSPs
and we are ideally placed to take advantage of this trend.
"In the Commercial Sector, where market conditions remain difficult, we remain
focused on building new business from our key vertical markets of transport and
utility/services by investing in sales and marketing.
"Progress in the transport sector is particularly encouraging, where we have a
number of bids in the pipeline and have been made preferred supplier by a major
company in the air services sector. The contract is worth in excess of #18m
over a five year period and we expect to be in a position to give further
information about this contract in the coming weeks. We have secured additional
business from existing customers including 3663 and are working closely with
London Underground Limited and Transport for London on their harmonisation
programme.
"We continue to focus on enhancing our service to existing customers and have
secured contract renewals and extensions in our target sectors. In total during
this financial year we have secured business with existing Commercial customers
to the value of #10m for a period of up to three years with: Centrica, Man B&W
Diesel and VA Tech. In addition we have added three new Commercial customer
names to our portfolio through French Thornton consultancy projects and a new
infrastructure services contract signed with VAI Industries (UK) Limited, worth
#2.1m for a period of up to five years.
"To conclude, with the strength of our order book and our market leading
position in Local Government, together with the significant sales pipeline in
the Public Sector, we believe this represents an encouraging platform for
another good performance in 2003."
-Ends-
For further information please contact:
ITNET
Bridget Blow, Chief Executive 0121 459 1155
Robin Taylor, Group Finance Director
Cubitt Consulting
Fergus Wylie 020 7367 5100
Peter Ogden
Note to Editors:
In the full year to 31 December 2002, ITNET's operating profit (pre-goodwill
amortisation, impairment and exceptionals) increased by 24% to #16.3m (2001:
#13.2m). Group turnover increased by 1.4% to #179.0m (2001: #176.4) and
earnings per share (pre-goodwill amortisation, impairment and exceptionals)
increased by 26% to 15.9p (2001: 12.5p).
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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