Datong spies US recovery with major contract win
SURVEILLANCE firm Datong has won a £765,000 ($1.2m) contract with the American defence sector which the Yorkshire company today hailed as a major boost to its US operations.
It is the largest US contract won by the Leeds-based company for more than 18 months and is perceived to be an important step in the recovery of the American marketplace.
Datong specialises in the design and manufacture of advanced high performance intelligence gathering equipment used to track criminals and terrorists.
The US contract will result in it supplying tracking and location equipment to the US defence sector.
Dean Blood, chief executive of Datong, said: “We are extremely pleased to announce this significant contract win which reaffirms customer confidence in our solutions for this market.
“The board takes renewed comfort in the strength of Datong’s relationships with its key customers in the US, and the indicative scale of the opportunities for the medium and longer term in the region.”
Datong has a wholly owned subsidiary in the US with an office in Chantilly, Virginia.
As reported by TheBusinessDesk.com last December, the group expects to be in profit by the end of March 2010 after unveiling record orders up 234% for the first half.
It saw orders rise to £4.91m in the six months to September 30 from £1.47m for the same period in 2008.
The group saw revenue increase 86% to £2.81m in the six months to September 30 while operating losses for the period were £1.32m compared to £1.67m last time.
