In March, when IT distributor Renaissance Corporation told the stock exchange it had decided to cut its online data insurance and digital media business and write down the company’s investment, it was already feeling the effects of the global economic contraction.
Renaissance’s net profit before tax has fallen 70 percent year on year, down from $5.1 million for the full year to December 2007 to $1.5 million in 2008.
In a statement to the NZSX when announcing the sharp fall in profit, Renaissance said sales and margins fell “significantly below expectations” in the last quarter of 2008. The company’s retail, education hardware sales and the core distribution business were the worst affected.
The costs of discontinued businesses totalled $3.1 million.
Renaissance, like many others, found itself in a business environment more hostile than it had experienced for years.
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