SAP specialist Oxygen will post a record financial year at the end of June, says chief executive Mike Smith. “We’ve beaten our revenue target by 12% and our profit target by 10%,” he says.
Smith would not disclose Oxygen’s exact figures. However, Computerworld understands Australasian revenue is in the vicinity of A$40 million (NZ$50 million).
On the back of this performance, the company has been recruiting. By the end of the month it will have added 22 staff, bringing its total numbers to 220, 170 of whom are permanent. That’s broken down into 110 permanents in Australia (plus 30 contractors) and 60 permanents in New Zealand (plus 10 contractors).
“Performance has been very strong in Melbourne,” Smith says. “We’re restructuring Australia now to focus on industries and solutions. I’ve promoted several senior staff to national roles.”
One of these is Stuart Dickinson, who becomes general manager solutions delivery for Australia.
Smith says business was “a bit quiet” in New Zealand and that, looking out to 2009, it will continue to be flat.
“Everyone’s waiting to see what’s happening at Contact Energy,” he says.
Contact is majority-owned by Australian company Origin, which has been the subject of a buy-out bid from British interests — so far rejected.
Smith says major achievements in the past year include the completion of an 18-month project at Arkansas paper mill Evergreen Packaging (owned by Graeme Hart); rolling out a finance and asset management system for Melbourne-based Alinta, which specialises in energy and asset management. There have also been several projects for Rio Tinto in Brisbane; and four projects for the Australian federal government.
He says the company is looking for new revenues next financial year, with some focus on Business Objects and Oxygen Express in Australia.
“Our goal is to go up the value chain.”