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| Subject: parking, taxi, food and drink, and bankingSweden | |
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Author: Proton e-cash system later date completed by January 2003. |
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Date Posted: 18:32:10 01/20/03 Mon ERG puts smart cards in Sweden Electronics News ERG has secured a new contract to install and operate an integrated smart card fare collection system valued at $40 million on the public transport system in Gothenburg, Sweden. Under the contract, ERG will issue 500,000 multi-application contact/contactless smart cards in the first three years of operation, with that number expected to climb to more than one million as the system expands. The cards have also been designed to incorporate the Proton e-cash system at a later date to allow for additional applications such as payments for parking, taxi, food and drink, and banking, according to ERG ceo Peter Fogarty. “ERG has supplied magnetic ticketing equipment and smart card systems in Sweden for more than 15 years and we are looking forward to working together to showcase our advanced smart card technology with our valued customer in Gothenburg,” Fogarty said. “The award of this contract to ERG, which follows an extensive evaluation process, further increases our recurring revenue from long-term projects and the footprint our systems have across Europe”. ERG will supply a range of equipment including ERG-developed ticket processors, contactless smart card validators and portable sales, validation and inspection devices, the company said in a statement. A state-of-the-art global positioning system will also be installed to track vehicle positions for the automatic calculation of fares based on distance, the company said. A trial of the system will be conducted on bus, train and tram modes in February 2002, with system rollout scheduled for September 2002 and full implementation to be completed by January 2003. This latest contract win brings the total smart card contract wins fro ERG to almost $100 million since January 2001. 28 June 2001 ERG expects revenue growth in coming year SMARTCARD group ERG said Thursday it expected earnings before interest, tax, amortisation and depreciation (EBITDA) and revenue to grow in the current financial year. The smart card company said EBITDA and operating cash flow was budgeted to improve in the current financial year, as cost cuts initiated in the second half of 2002 began to take hold, and new projects kicked off. However, profitability at the EBITDA level would be largely dependent on the timing of new projects, ERG added. The company today booked a $243.9m full year net loss, which compared to a $6.10m profit previously. The loss included $165.3m in one-off write-downs and provisions, mainly due to the accounting treatment of equity historically received in exchange for the license of ERG's technology, the company said. Group revenue inched 1% higher to $301.55m. ERG said overall revenue should grow in 2003, with much stronger growth forecast for 2004. Depreciation and amortisation, mainly arising from major infrastructure investments, which cost the company $38.2m last financial year, would continue to run at about $35m, before amortisation of the Proton World goodwill of $11m each year. "EBITDA and operating cash flow is budgeted to improve in 2003 as the cost cutting initiated in the second half of 2002 has full impact and new projects commence," ERG said. ERG said it was hopeful that signing supply and long-term operating contracts in Sydney and Seattle - which had been delayed by as much as two to three years - would be finalised during the coming months. ERG said it was the preferred proponent in both cases, where the infrastructure equipment was being acquired by the customer and its operation outsourced to ERG. The company said it was also involved in large tenders in Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden and the US, with decisions expected this financial year. ERG also announced it had been awarded an important new contract in Las Vegas, initially worth $US 6m ($A 10.98m) by Canadian group Bombardier Inc, which further strengthens its business in the US. ERG said due to delays experienced in the finalisation of the contracts in Sydney, Seattle and elsewhere, the operating revenue from supply contracts would build towards the end of the current half year. "Revenue in the second half is expected to be stronger than the first half as the major projects ramp up," it said. ERG said normalised revenue in the 2001/02 financial year - removing the telecoms revenue from the previous financial year, as that business was sold in 2001, and non-trading revenue - grew more than 25% to $280.3m. The company said tough market conditions, significant delays in contract awards and the impact of September 11 on the insurance and bonding market all impacted the group's performance in the full year. "These delays impacted revenue in the full year by more than $40m and led to the high level of staff cuts across the group," ERG said. It added costs associated with the major Rome infrastructure project and the delay in the commencement of the Lazio phase of the project also reduced revenue. ERG said its focus remains on cash flow generation, with major structural changes implemented in the second half as part of an aggressive cost reduction program expected to result in ongoing annual cost savings of $30m. Directors did not declare a dividend, compared to an unfranked one cent dividend the previous year. 13 September 2002 [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |