Acorn Computer Group Plc, the Cambridge, UK-based computer manufacturer, has reported pre-tax profits down 92.3% to #100,000, for the year to December 31 1993. Yes, December 1993! As to the reason for this delay, Acorn remained very coy, muttering about a technology announcement in six to eight weeks, which will explain all the secrecy. This […]
Acorn Computer Group Plc, the Cambridge, UK-based computer manufacturer, has reported pre-tax profits down 92.3% to #100,000, for the year to December 31 1993. Yes, December 1993! As to the reason for this delay, Acorn remained very coy, muttering about a technology announcement in six to eight weeks, which will explain all the secrecy. This announcement will also explain Acorn’s diffidence in quantifying the savings it hopes to make through its cost cutting programme. In the figures posted, the marginal profitability, dropping from #1.3m last year, evaporates entirely if one removes the #183,000 contribution from its remaining 43% stake in Advanced RISC Machines Holdings Ltd. The poor performance of Acorn Computers Ltd, the principal operating company, can be attributed to two factors: gross margins fell by five percentage points during the year, as the cost of key components, particularly semiconductors, rose, and the company invested #700,000 in a new sales and marketing subsidiary in Germany. Though component prices have now stabilised, the company believes that competitive price pressures are unlikely to permit a significant recovery in margins in the short-term at least. In April, the company launched the RISC PC (CI No 2,395) and so far the company has been overwhelmed by its reception, with demand far outstripping the 4,000 units to be produced between the launch and the end of June. Advanced RISC Machines, the microprocessor design company, saw a first full-year pre-tax profit of #400,000 on turnover that more than doubled to #2.6m. The year saw three new major licensees of the technology for the company in Sharp Corp, Texas Instruments Inc and Cirrus Logic Inc, and the launch of ARM-powered products, including the Newton and the 3DO Co Interactive Multiplayer. So far this year, ARM has added a licence pact with Samsung Electronics Co.
