Commander staff boost Data#3
Diversified information technology services and products group Data#3 has praised the 48 staff it picked up from ailing rival Commander earlier this year, saying the employees had brought with them a good amount of business.
"They could have been an expense to us," said Data#3 managing director John Grant this afternoon, speaking to ZDNet.com.au after the firm delivered an update on its projected revenues for the year to 30 June 2008.
But the new recruits showed their worth. "They've covered their costs for the half," the executive added.
In general, his new employees are "excellent", according to Grant, with years of valuable experience behind them. Commander's move to put them onto the market was a windfall. "They never would have been available otherwise," he said.
In general, Commander's change in direction, away from its hardware reselling business, has opened up a new customer base for Data#3. "There's no doubt that customer relationships which were no longer being serviced by Commander had to be serviced by someone," he said.
Some of the customers have been delaying finding a new partner, taking time to realign themselves with the changes.
Things are broadly looking up for Data#3. The firm upgraded its profit forecast today, reporting that strong revenues have meant that costs the company had taken on earlier in the year had not impacted its bottom line as expected.
Commander's staff incurred AU$3 million in expenses in the second half of the year. It also acquired Fingerprint Recruitment Services, effective January.
"There had been an expectation that while we would improve on our performance from last year, there would be downward pressure because of the costs we'd taken on," Grant said.
However, the company's performance overshadowed the costs. The total revenue for the 2008 financial year is now expected to top AU$360 million, while the earnings before interest and tax will amount to around AU$12 million, an increase of 21 per cent on the previous year.
The other source of cost, Data#3's newly acquired recruitment company Fingerprint had a lot on its plate for its first half year, Grant said, including a site change. "It's been fairly turbulent and it was quite reasonable to think it was a cost." However, the new company's figures have come out in the black.