Datamatic Northrop loss

Press, 4 April 1989, Page 38

Datamatic Northrop loss

Extraordinary losses of $Au5t5,792,000 gave Datamatic Northrop a bottom line loss of $Au5t5,549,000, in the year ended December 31, compared with a profit of sAustl,B36,ooo the year before. Profit after tax was $243,000 including $117,000 in minority interests, compared with a profit in the previous year of $2,038,000.

The directors said in their preliminary statement that strong sales and profit growth in the group's core operations

in Australia was offset by the severe slump in the New Zealand economy. Depressed economic conditions in New Zealand seriously disrupted the operations of Northrop Instruments and Systems, which suffered a $2 million pre-tax operating loss. With little prospect of a recovery in New Zealand in the foreseeable future, it has been decided radically to restructure Northrop’s activities and to refocus group management's attention on the profitable operations in Australia,

Singapore, and Japan where growth in the year under review reflected undiminished demand for its products and services. The. rationalisation of the New Zealand operations, where high fixed overheads exacerbated poor trading conditions, led to the provision for extraordinary losses of $6.6 million.

The payment of a final dividend is not recommended, leaving the 1988 dividend distribution at 4c a share, fully franked.