November 01, 2006
Petaling Jaya, 01 November 2006 - Financial solutions specialist eBworx Bhd is very optimistic on the group’s performance next year driven by improved profit margins and recurring income from its business divisions.
Profit margins had improved tremendously via better project executions, said group chief executive officer Tan Suan Fong.
“We are also enjoying strong growth in our maintenance and enhancement services divisions from our existing software installation sites in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and China,” he told StarBiz.
The Mesdaq-listed company recorded a net profit of RM1.91mil for the third quarter ended Sept 30 compared with RM1.86mil in the same quarter last year. Revenue dipped slightly to RM8.35mil versus RM9.5mil previously.
For the first nine months of the year, eBworx’s net profit surged 5.7 times to RM5.73mil compared with RM845,000 in the same period of 2005, while revenue was up 6.7% to RM24.4mil from RM22.9mil.
eBworx currently has four business lines – software licensing and implementation services, maintenance and services, software enhancements and upgrades and banking IT managed service outsource, which only began early this year.
Tan said he expected the maintenance and services division to contribute revenue of RM7mil next year based on contracts secured so far compared with about RM3mil this year.
The software enhancements and upgrades division, meanwhile, is targeted to rake in revenue of RM10mil to RM12mil in 2007 from RM7mil this year.
“Our new business line, banking IT managed service outsource, which helps to manage our customers’ data centres and provides application support, is also doing well with revenue set to double to RM8mil next year.
“These three divisions with their recurring income streams and better margins will be the group’s growth drivers going forward,” Tan said, adding that eBworx’s order book averaged about RM30mil at any one time.
He said the group, which derived 70% of its revenue from overseas, planned to focus on its existing markets in the next two years to fuel business growth, as there were still so many opportunities available in the region.
Tan also expects bright prospects for eBworx with the implementation of Basel II as it could mean higher demand for the group’s credit management software.
Basel II focuses on several areas, including improving the risk-management practices of all compliant banks, and is set to take off early next year in some South-East Asian countries.
Source: The Star
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