The announcement from Telia that it is to lock up its stake in Eircom for six months has provided some respite to the seemingly relentless decline in the Eircom share price. However, with telecom shares everywhere under some pressure, a return to its flotation price is likely to be a long way off.
It's therefore good to see the share prices of two of the market's high-tech stocks - Iona and Parthus - have risen sharply in recent weeks. Both companies reported second-quarter results that were somewhat better than forecast.
Iona Technologies is one of that rare breed of new technology companies that is currently generating profits. The company reported revenues of $35 million (€37 million) and after-tax profits of $4.5 million for the quarter.
The company's management reported that the deal pipeline is the strongest that it has ever been and revenues should continue to grow at over 40 per cent per annum. Currently the majority of Iona's revenues are derived from the financial/insurance and telecommunications sectors, but the company is beginning to broaden into the manufacturing sector. These results confirm Iona as one of the better quality quoted technology companies in both an Irish and global context.
Like many of its peers Parthus has still to generate profits; however, it has been a stellar performer with its share price up more than 170 per cent since its flotation in May. The recently reported second-quarter results are the first since the company's flotation. Total revenue for the quarter was $7.8 million, an increase of 66 per cent on a year ago.
The prospects for revenue growth going forward remain very positive with the company signing seven new licence agreements during the quarter, two of which were multi-million dollar contracts. Parthus is actively developing new product offerings.
The company's latest launch is its new Internet Audio product "Mediastream" which will allow the downloading of music over the Internet onto any mobile device. Although the shares are rated very highly, Parthus looks like a company that could go far.
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