Unisys revenues slip to $113m

Computer services multinational Unisys is confident it can reverse a slide in its New Zealand revenues despite the loss of a key contract with the ACC.

Unisys New Zealand reported a slightly higher profit of $2.3 million on turnover of $113.2 million in 2006, in accounts just filed with the Companies Office.

This compares with a profit of $2.1 million on sales of $120.5 million the previous year.

ACC picked Telecom's IT services arm Gen-i as its preferred supplier of outsourcing services in June.

Unisys, which did not make the final shortlist, had earned $40 million to $50 million during the past five years from the outsourcing arrangement, once extra one-off work that was not covered by the contract was included, ACC chief information offer Graeme Osborne said.

Unisys New Zealand managing director Brett Hodgson says Unisys lost only part of ACC's business and that four services wins it secured this year along with others it expected would make up for the loss.

One was with the Social Development Ministry.

Unisys will continue to service the ACC till the end of the year, so the loss will not be reflected in its accounts till the year after next.

Mr Hodgson says the revenue trend reflects Unisys' decision to pull out of the hardware market and focus solely on services, but the company was being "re-engineered" to create growth.

Unisys gave the green light in March to a long-awaited multimillion-dollar expansion of its Paraparaumu datacentre.

- © Fairfax NZ News