MicroLink profits soar in 2003

  • 2004-02-26
  • From wire reports
TALLINN - MicroLink, the dominant IT group in the Baltics, announced last week that its net profit soared over 400 percent in 2003 to reach 2.7 million kroons (175,000 euros).

Annual revenues amounted to 57.9 million kroons, while gross profit - sales revenues minus sales costs - grew 30.9 percent to 26.8 million euros over the period.
Notably, the results do not include income from the sale of Delfi portals, which began in December but will be recorded in the first quarter of 2004.
Commenting the results, CEO Allan Martinson said, "The important change for MicroLink was going from just reselling hardware boxes and software licenses to billing for solutions and services that we provide, which has increased our gross margins significantly during the last year."
Revenues meanwhile amounted to 57.9 million euros, a decrease of 5.5 percent year-on-year, partly due to PC-assembly operations sold in June 2003. Sales growth of current businesses during the July - December period (excluding PC assembly) was 34 percent compared to a year earlier.
"As the IT market is going through a change toward becoming more professional service- and consulting-oriented, the gross profit we generate becomes much more important than just the sales figure," Martinson said.
MicroLink is the largest IT group in the Baltics, employing 683 people. Its main areas of business include IT infrastructure products, software development, enterprise solutions, training, data communications and end-user PC services. Its subsidiary for the production of telecommunications equipment, SAF Tehnika, showed solid growth in exports last year, particularly to China. SAF Tehnika claims to have almost a 2 percent market share worldwide on point-to-point radio links.
MicroLink's main owners are the Baltic Republics Fund (26 percent), Baltic Investment Fund (20 percent), Astro Holding (16 percent), executives and employees (15 percent) and founders (15 percent).