Mincom plans international push after profit
Mincom chief executive Richard Mathews told ZDNet Australia the company had laid the groundwork for a stronger incursion into eastern Europe by opening an office in St Petersburg, strengthening existing operations in Moscow and extending a contract with Siberian nickel giant Norilsk Nickel.
Mathews said the translation of Mincom products into Chinese languages by partner Neusoft was expected to be completed by November, opening up new potential in the world's most populous market.
In the longer term, Mathews said, Mincom, Australia's largest commercial software company, would look at other growth markets such as India to bolster its international presence.
Mathews said the company -- which specialises in software for asset-intensive industries such as mining and utilities -- had made a "really good start" to the new financial year, being significantly ahead of budget and last year's performance at the same point.
Mincom had signed a large deal with a global mining company today, the chief executive said, but could not provide any further details.
He said Mincom had restructured an underperforming division in early July -- which saw four people leave the company and an additional 20 relocated into other divisions -- and would take a small charge as a result. Declining to specify which division was involved, Mathews said did not see any further "significant changes" being required for the year.
The Brisbane-based software heavyweight achieved the net profit on a 10 percent increase in revenue to AU$165.1 million on the previous financial year. It recorded a net loss the previous financial year of AU$7.3 million on revenues of AU$150.4 million.
It said the return to profitability was supported by growth across all revenue lines and tighter focus on industry verticals.
Mincom in June secured a massive contract with the Australian Defence Force for an upgrade of its logistics information system, replacing a hotch-potch of systems which had developed in an ad-hoc way over 20 years.