SEPURA scales up push
Strong demand from Germany has continued to drive a material increase in terminal volumes to 78,800 radios (2013: 61,700 radios) and the integration of the acquired Finnish business, Portalify is on track, the company reports.
Digital radio technology specialist Sepura has stepped up its efforts to work the potential gold mine of a virgin TETRA market in the US.
The Cambridge UK business told shareholders in a trading update today that it had continued to invest in new product development targeted at high growth opportunities and increased its investment in North America with the expansion of its US-based sales team.
Sepura said trading for the six months to September 27 was in line with market expectations for the full year.
Strong demand from Germany has continued to drive a material increase in terminal volumes to 78,800 radios (2013: 61,700 radios) and the integration of the acquired Finnish business, Portalify is on track, the company reports.
Sepura said trading in the first half of the financial year had benefited from strong demand in core markets. Terminal volumes rose by 28 per cent compared to the same period last year - driven principally by further contract wins in Germany where shipments increased to 34,000 radios, compared to 21,000 during the same period last year.
Sepura Systems has seen strong order intake during the period, including its first TETRA infrastructure contract in North America, with the Toronto Transit Commission, and significant contracts with Luxembourg utility CREOS and TOTAL's Leuna oil refinery.
The group's reported Euro operating costs, which are incurred primarily in Sterling, were impacted as expected during the period by movements in exchange rate hedges compared to the same period last year. Sepura said this would not be the case in H2, when the group's hedging instruments were at comparable rates to H2 FY13.
CEO Gordon Watling said: “We have been encouraged by the performance across our core markets during the period, and remain confident of meeting our targets for the full year.
“We are particularly pleased with Sepura Systems' strong order book for delivery in the second half of the year, which validates our strategy of offering a complete solution to our customers. The acquisition of Portalify represents a further important step to achieving that objective.
“The solid platform we have built has enabled us to continue our investment in exciting new products, and emerging TETRA markets such as North America, which will enable us to capitalise on longer-term growth opportunities.”
Source: Businessweekly
