E-cademy blames Olympics for slump

By PETER GRIFFIN

E-cademy, the developer of distance education applications, has halved its sales forecast for the financial year, blaming a lack of initial interest in e-learning applications and the Sydney Olympic Games for poor sales results.

The company, which listed on the Stock Exchange last April, saw its share price plummet from a high of 9c after listing to close at 2.5c last night.

Sales forecasts of $500,000 are predicted for this financial year, significantly down from the anticipated sales total of $1 million outlined in the company's prospectus.

E-cademy director Wayne Johnson said the company had been hit by the global downturn in tech stocks and a lack of understanding by companies seeking to use the internet in training programmes.

The company's activities in Sydney and Melbourne were also hampered by a spree of promotional spending during the Olympics which substantially disrupted business.

"We got caught up with Olympics-mania, with corporates putting money into sponsorship. Many people took holidays then as well."

E-cademy, which has plans to list on the Australian stock exchange, is the latest in a string of listed companies to revise sales expectations.

The poor results were tempered with news that contracts have been signed with AC Neilsen and St John Ambulance Australia to develop online training courses.

Discussions are also under way with corporates and education providers on this side of the Tasman.

Mr Johnson said: "The e-learning market is going to quadruple in the near future and if we look a year or two out I think the market potential for the type of business we are in is quite significant."