A COMPANY NOW A MAJOR PLAYER IN IT SERVICES MARKET
Sydney - Tuesday - July 13: (RWE) *********************************
Allan Brackin, the man who has put Volante on the IT map and announced he would soon stand now as chief executive, triggered strong buying support for his company in the market on the news.
It may well have been because at the same time the company announced it expected to post an $11 million profit for the financial year just ended.
But Mr Brackin won't relinquish his position until a new chief executive is appointed.
An internal and external search for a successor will be initiated immediately.
The Volante profit which includes new acquisitions, should be handed down on August 26.
But Volante did not say whether this was more than previously forecast or what.
However, first-half profit was only slightly higher at $3.1 million.
This means EPS for the year should be around 16c.
Even after the sharp rises of the past two days it makes the future p/e figure for the stock still less than 9.
Chairman David Crawford said Volante was now a major player in the IT services market, with a capable and committed management team, and the company was in a strong position to compete effectively for large contracts.
SHARE PRICE MOVEMENTS *********************
Shares of Volante crept up 1c to $1.41 yesterday. High for the year has been $1.49 and low 92c. In two days last week the shares gained 17c after Mr Brackin announced his future intentions. Dividend is 8c a share to yield an attractive 5.67 per cent.
Chairman Mr Robin Crawford paid tribute to the work of Mr Brackin saying, "Allan has done a magnificent job in leading Volante's growth to this stage, and we wish him well for the future.
"The integration of Ipex, which was acquired in February, is now substantially complete, and Volante's net profit after tax and before amortisation for the year to 30 June 2004, which will be announced on 26 August, is likely to exceed $11 million.
"Our present managed services contracts provide a strong basis for the 2005 year, and any recovery in demand for IT infrastructure or application development projects will be a bonus."
Mr Brackin said: "After 18 years at the helm of Volante and of AAG, which Volante acquired in 2000, I have decided to focus on other challenges, particularly in the not-for-profit sector.
"This is a change I have been planning for some time, and I am confident Volante is now in a strong position to build on recent contract wins and increase its share of the IT services market.
"I shall be working with the board to choose a CEO with the credentials to lead the next stage of Volante's growth, and the timing of my departure will depend upon the completion of a successful transition."
Mr Brackin said he intended to remain a major shareholder in the company.
BACKGROUND **********
The Volante Group Limited today is one of the largest IT procurement and services companies in Australia. Volante Group currently employ around 850 staff and has revenues of about $450 million per annum.
The Volante Group became a publicly listed company with the Australian Stock Exchange on December 1999.
It encompasses the following businesses:
Volante Systems, Volante Solutions, Affinity IT Recruitment, Global Remarketing, PCSave and Ipex.
The IT infrastructure and service provider, offers the expertise and breadth of experience and services that ensure its customers really utilise the power that the latest technology offers.
Volante Systems provides a huge range of procurement and technical services to their customer base.
Their long-term partnerships with leading providers of hardware, software and services delivers the right solution at the most cost effective price point.
The solutions that Volante Systems provide ensure high availability, enterprise databases, networking, security and storage management for today's mission-critical IT environments.
Customer Connect Volante Systems IT procurement system is used by more than 300 customers and provides on-line order entry, customer specific pricing, stock availability, serial/asset / tracking and a full suite of reports.
Volante Systems also has a division that provides IT software, hardware and related services to the SME market sector.
For over ten years in one form or other, Volante Systems has been delivering a unique combination of quality Tier 1 products, comprehensive services and advanced technology to Australia's leading corporate and government organisations.
Volante Systems focus on providing the best quality IT equipment from vendors like: Compaq, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Microsoft and Toshiba.
Volante Solutions specialises in electronic business solutions. We fuse software applications, IT infrastructure, communications and security, business processes and organisational structure to create a high performance business model that will get you working smoothly.
It analyse your business processes, determines your needs, and engineer the custom solution you require.
Volante consultants have years of experience and specialise in the areas of Knowledge Management, Business to Business, Data Warehousing, Application Development and Business Intelligence.
Ipex has recently merged with Volante Group Limited and have has been manufacturing, researching and developing IT product in Australia for over 20 years.
They provide a wide range of desktops, notebooks, servers and storage products to corporate and government Australia.
Following the merger with Volante Group Limited, Ipex continue to develop and supply the one of the best quality IT product ranges in Australia.
Affinity IT Recruitment specialises in the area of Information Technology (IT) Recruitment, placing contract and permanent staff within the IT Department of organisations.
Affinity will tailor their approach to meet companies IT recruitment needs and understand that different clients require different solutions.
Options such as Technical Testing; a procedure to benchmark IT staff, help add to a package of services that Affinity can provide over and above the recruitment of professional contract and permanent staff.
Global Remarketing is Australia's largest PC refurbishment organisation, remarketing quality IT products including PCs, notebooks, servers, printers and scanners.
Global Remarketing equipment is sought for its quality and reliability.
The company has set the standard for quality refurbished product in Australia with a dedicated team following a rigorous and streamlined refurbishment process.
(20min delay)