Shares in British computer services firm Xansa have tumbled as the company reports widening full-year net losses and no sign of any imminent recovery in customers' IT spending.
Shares in Xansa reached their lowest level for five years, droppping to 11% to £0.93 as the company turned in net losses for the year to end-April of £528.1 million. The results include £497 million pounds to write down the value of acquisitions OSI Group Holdings, Druid Group, and Synergy International Consulting. Operating profit was up 9% to £49.1m as revenues rose 18% to £515.1 million.
Despite big wins at Barclays and BT, Xansa has suffered badly from the IT slowdown and has issued two profit warnings already this year. The shares took a further knock last week when the company reported the early termination of a blue chip IT joint venture contract with HBOS.
Introducing the results, executive chairman Hilary Cropper, warns: "We remain cautious about the economic environment and do not expect a significant upturn in IT spending before the start of calendar 2003 at the earliest."