Middle East progress for Synectics
SURVEILLANCE system firm Synectics is expecting to see its Dubai operations move into profit in the first half of this year.
Parent company Quadnetics admitted that political turmoil in the Middle East had hit some of its projects but expects to meet market expectations for the six months to the end of May.
Quadnetics reorganised its Middle East operations into a division of its Sheffield-based subsidiary Synectics Networks last year.
Chairman David Coghlan said: “As anticipated, surveillance markets dependent on the UK public sector continue to be patchy, with projects in both defence and local authority areas experiencing delays in contract awards. We have also seen lower than expected demand for on-bus surveillance systems; underlying new bus orders in the UK have remained quite weak, although recently there has been some evidence of recovery. In contrast, sales to the UK financial services sector have been strong.
“Outside the UK, recent political events in the Middle East have resulted in the cancellation or delay of a number of projects across the region. Despite this, Synectics Networks’ operations in Dubai are still expected to move from start-up losses into profit in the six months to 31 May 2011.
“In North America, sales of casino and gaming surveillance systems have been especially strong, with some important new customer and contract wins so far this financial year. Progress in Synectics’ oil and gas division has been equally strong, notably including work on the first systems for the Gorgon natural gas project in Australia, where the scope of the contract continues to grow.”
Mr Coghlan said the diversity of the markets it serves gave Quadnetics a “measure of protection” against uncertainties in particular sectors or parts of the world.
