Restructure pays dividends for Rebus

UK computer software and services company Rebus has announced a leap in operating profits. Its year-end results showed a profit growth of 54 per cent to £8.7m.

Rebus claims the results are due in part to a restructuring of the company completed last year. The firm is now divided into three vertical markets: insurance, local government and media and two cross sector functions, human resources and payroll. Rebus Group CEO, Peter Presland, said: "In the two years since the company spun off from our then parent CE Heath, we have brought to bear a lot more focus. The current corporate structure has allowed us to concentrate our efforts and gather in depth knowledge of specific sectors."

Although the media division made a loss, Presland defended it as a future money-maker. "The market has obvious dynamic growth," he said. "Research indicates that it is not well served by IT. We have been developing the media product for two years and although it is still operating at a loss, we expect to be running into profit in the next twelve months."

Marianne Kolding, senior analyst at IDC Europe's support services division, agreed that the choice of media as a target market is well grounded, but that the company could have problems with local government customers. "A lot of services companies have had their fingers burnt in that area," she said. "ICL had a problem with one of its contracts to manage council tax systems, and Oracle backed out of it completely. Companies have found problems dealing with compulsory competitive tendering. They are finding it too hard to do anything in that sector."