NEW YORK, Nov. 29, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The following is an investment opinion issued by Investrend Research Syndicate:
Investrend Research provider Fundamental Research Corp. recently released a 10-page third quarter update on Datec Group Ltd. (TSE:DGL). The full report, dated November 26, 2004, which includes important disclosures, is available free for a limited time at www.fundamentalresearchcorp.com.
According to the report, the company achieved revenue growth in Q3, reversing the two prior quarters' lower than expected performance. Sales for the three months ended September 30, 2004, were $13 million, up 24.6% over the same period last year, and $37.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2004, up 6% over the same period last year. High growth in New Zealand, and slight growth in the Pacific has offset a decline in Australian revenues.
The analyst Brian Tang, CFA, notes that gross margins have once again exceeded expectations while cost cutting has brought EBITDA and operating margins back in line with more historical norms. The analyst expects further improvements as the underperforming Certus operations have been disposed. EPS estimates for 2004 and 2005 were lowered to account for lower than expected growth in Australia, the strong C$, and the disposition of Certus offset by growth in the company's other operating regions. Although cost cutting is expected to continue, depreciation and minority interest expense have also increased. The rise in depreciation expense was attributed to a large contract to manage an ATM banking network in Papua New Guinea.
Fundamental Research Corp. is a research provider to Investrend Research and a member of the FIRST Research Consortium (http://www.firstresearchconsortium.com), which sets the standards and ethics for independent research agreed to by all members of the association. A fee of less than $10,000 was provided to Fundamental by the company for research coverage.
The full report is available for a limited time at: www.fundamentalresearchcorp.com and www.investrendresearch.com, and investors are advised to read disclosures carefully before trading in the equities of any company. The company's InvestorPower page is at http://www.investrend.com/company/list.asp?sPathParam=yes .
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