Infinity takes three years to turn a profit

Wellington-based IT and consulting firm Infinity Group has finally turned a small profit after two years of losses.

Infinity Group is 44 per cent owned by Active Equities, the investment firm of former Brierley executives Paul Collins, Patsy Reddy and Bruce Hancox.

Collins is chairman of Infinity, but Reddy and fellow director Jon Hartley resigned from the board at the end of last year. BDH Group founder and former Telecom executive Peter Cowper joined the board in January.

The unlisted firm had a $2.7 million profit for 2003.

Infinity was created from the merger of Trilogy, Madison and Comtex in 2000. It planned to quickly become a $100-million-turnover firm, with an annual profit of $8 million in 2001, and list on the New Zealand Exchange. Instead, it lost $5.1 million in 2001 and $3.1 million in 2002, and turnover fell from $93 million to $80 million.

Turnover in 2003 has dropped further to $66.7 million with the expiry of two large contracts.

However, chief executive Stuart Robb says the corner has been turned, with the firm's restructuring along regional lines at the start of 2003.

This reduced direct costs and overheads by $4.7 million and Robb said it also improved focus and timeliness for its customers.

The number of staff has been static at 350 since the reorganisation, but two years ago the firm had 500 staff.

There are no plans to raise money, though a listing on the NZAX will be considered as one option for realising returns to shareholders.

The firm has agencies for multinational IT and telecommunications products and boasts customers from large corporate down to small businesses.

- NZPA