Earnings of The Computer Centre amounted to $97,435 on sales of $2,132,981 compared with $139,295 last year on sales of $2,231,895. However, the earnings of the Agency and Communications divisions more than offset the decline in earnings of The Computer Centre which have been negatively affected by growing competition and pressure on margins.
The President, Mrs. Susan Wilson, noted that sales of The Computer Centre, in the second half of the year are expected to meet the company's budget projections and in the period up to the end of July there has been a significant increase in sales and earnings as a result of confirmed orders for equipment and deliveries in July.
Net income of the Agency division for the six months ended 30th June, 1998 was $252,912 compared with $208,954 last year and the new Communications division contributed net income of $58,052 to earnings in the first six months of this year.
The consulting revenues of the Agency division continue to grow and seem limited only to the company's ability to provide such services. The demand for such services is particularly strong in the area of Y2K consulting requirements and this demand continues to grow as customers find that they are not able to address this problem on a timely basis with their internal resources. The revenues of the Communications division continue to grow as additional customers are connected to the company's network which forms a part of IBM Global Network.
Total assets of the group at 30th June 1998 amounted to $3,387,454 compared with $3,032,555. The company has cash and time deposits of $1,688,011 at 30th June, 1998 compared with $1,008,356 last year and shareholders equity increased from $2,069,045 to $2,235,272 at 30th June, 1998.
At the Board of Directors Meeting held, 24th August, 1998 the directors decided to increase the quarterly dividend rate from $0.20 to $0.25 in view of the increase in earnings and the build up of cash. The Directors also declared a dividend of $0.25 to be paid on 15th October to shareholders of record 30th September.