Spotlight - Energis talks up its future
In the spotlight: business communications company Energis has yet to make a profit but analysts predict good times ahead.
Energis finance director Chris Hibbert will on Monday be tellingt to make a profit but analysts predict good times ahead. analysts there are better times ahead, as he announces a loss for the year to 31 March 1999, expected to be in the region of £33m.
Formed in 1992 to enter the telecommunications market, the company says its stated objective is to take on British Telecom in the business communications market.
But despite a successful stock market flotation in 1997 and buoyant share prices, it has yet to make a profit.
This year’s figure, however, is expected to be better than last year’s £77.5m pre-tax loss, and the company is expected to become profitable by 2001.
The slow road towards profitability has not prevented Energis joining the elite FTSE 100, which it did in April this year. It is now capitalised at more than £5.3bn.
The near-virtual company outsources heavily, with the bulk of its 1,200 staff working in sales, marketing and customer services.
Hibbert, 50, joined Energis as finance director in May 1996 and joined the board in October the same year. His previous posts include working as finance director of BT Networks. He is a member of ACCA and a chartered secretary.
The group has provided services to many clients including Boots, the BBC, Demon internet, Microsoft, Mirror Group Newspapers and Virgin Atlantic Airways.
Energis has 3% of the UK’s corporate telecommunications market, but it now has its eye on the internet.
It has purchased Planet Online, a ‘Web farm’, which will boost its capacity to run corporate websites. It also carries the traffic for Dixon’s Freeserve internet service.