Pace: sales plummet more than 40%

net1

UK set-top box maker Pace Micro Technology has reported substantially reduced revenues and reduced profits, but the company suggests that restructuring efforts and new customer acquisition will continue to restore the company's prospects . The results showed a pretax loss of E23.3 million in the year to May 31, compared to a profit of E19 million in the 12 months to May 31, 2002. Revenues came in at 240 million, down from 507 million. Pace was hit by the collapse of ITV Digital and spending cutbacks at a number of cable TV firms. Pace's set-top box sales were down 41 per cent year on year, a reflection of increased competition from other digital TV box manufacturers, particularly in the E144 Freeview digital terrestrial TV decoder market
However Pace's chairman, Sir Michael Bett, looks confident and said that in the last six months of the financial year, the company had moved close to breaking even at the pre-tax earnings level, after 18 months of falling revenues.

"We expect overall that the UK market will now stabilise at its current level. Pace has a full range of products for the satellite, cable and terrestrial markets in the UK, which should result in the group retaining the largest market share in this region, but at a lower level than in the past," Sir Michael said. Neil Gaydon, president of Pace Americas, told advanced-television.com that gaining market share in other countries had been difficult, but the company was seeing more business coming through.