Losses at Rapid Technology, the point-of-sale technology company, continue to accumulate, although at a slower rate. It has announced a pre-tax loss of£805,000 (El million) in the six months to December 31st, 1999, compared with loss of £982,000 (€1.2 million) in the comparable period in 1998. This brings the accumulated losses up to some £7.7 million.

Chairman Mr Pat McDonagh, who founded the company as well as Riverdeep, the educational software firm recently floated on the Nasdaq and Dublin markets, said negotiations to supply 'a major US retailer with the 7510 screenkey product are continuing in a positive manner".

It has been working with this retailer for more than a year and has had some pilot installations. In tandem with this, it has had negotiations with IBM to establish the basis for a multinational procurement relationship but finalisation depends on negotiations with the retailer. Mr McDonagh said "while the pace of these discussions [with the retailer] has been slow, it isanticipated that they will be concluded as expected".

The chairman noted that further market developments with distribution partners and original equipment makers were progressing positively. "Currently, there are a number of significant pilot installations ongoing in the US and Canada," he said.

Sales in the first half rose to £197,000, from £133,000. It had licence income of £230,000. The loss per share amounted to 3.40p compared with a loss of4.33p. The group has benefited from the acquisition of the rights to the LCD key technology in May 1999. It said it had orders of more than £350,000 on hand forthis technology from several telecom and studio equipment manufacturers.

Mr McDonagh said the policy of investing in the development and marketing of the group's technologies and products over the past two years "is now poisedto show accelerated growth". The company intends to appoint a chief executive officer "in the very near future to drive and further manage its ongoing development".