IT lessor and former Société
Générale subsidiary ECS overcame a series of challenges to weather
the recession.
Poor economic conditions led
to an increase in the cost of risk, up 94% to €3.3m in 2009,
compared to €1.7m in 2008. This in turn led to a 7.4% drop in
consolidated turnover, down to €1.74bn.
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There was also a general drop
in IT investment made by European companies, at its worst in Italy,
Spain and the UK; as a result, the company’s commercial production
fell by 18% in terms of average investment amount.
Profit after tax was also
hit, down 31% to €12.2m, against €17.6m in 2008.
ECS closed its Italian branch
in January 2009 due to a lack of funders in the market.
The directors’ report
nevertheless remained optimistic for the future, saying “changing
demand and technologies will lead to considerable growth potential
on the market over the next few years.”
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By GlobalDataIt added: “To sustain its
profitability and adapt both its offering and organisation to a
constantly changing market, the group will need to consolidate its
leasing services convergence strategy.
“To ensure profitable growth,
the group must continue to invest in services, via external growth,
to add to the existing service businesses in Italy, Spain and
Benelux.”
The report also stated that
the group will aim to increase its leasing portfolio and will focus
its service on selective outsourcing and centralised and
virtualised infrastructures.
In 2010, IT and telecoms
funder Econocom entered into exclusive talks with Société Générale
to acquire ECS. In early September 2010 the acquisition was
finalised and the company was sold for a total acquisition price of
€210m.
An announcement on the structure of the new organisation
is expected in January 2011.
