By Simon Hodgson Baan Co NV has made further statements that are, if not exactly bullish, very much in a positive vein. The Dutch ERP vendor says it is considering hiring up to 1,000 new staff and new CEO Mary Coleman spoke earlier this week about re-hiring some of the 1,000 employees laid off at […]
By Simon Hodgson
Baan Co NV has made further statements that are, if not exactly bullish, very much in a positive vein. The Dutch ERP vendor says it is considering hiring up to 1,000 new staff and new CEO Mary Coleman spoke earlier this week about re-hiring some of the 1,000 employees laid off at the end of last year (CI No 3,753). Ronald Florisson, vice president of corporate communications suggested that of the 1,000, 100 would probably be for the firm’s research and development division. However, the majority would probably be employed by the consultancy division he said, which would fit with EMEA president Mike Shinya’s remarks about growing the customer side of the business (CI No 3,751).
All hiring is dependent, Baan insists, on recovery in the enterprise resource planning market. The subtext is that splashing out on staff is also underpinned by the green shoots of recovery. Coleman has assured analysts that company’s third quarter results will show a profit. The analyst community has responded to Baan’s positive utterances, and the company’s stock has been gradually rising. BancBoston Robertson Stephens forecasts that the company’s revenue will increase 4.1% to $180m, but is less convinced that Baan will be in the black by October.
