Kalamazoo looks to Euro expansion

Kalamazoo has hinted at a European buying spree, after announcing its interim results for the six months ended 30 September.

The West Midlands dealer nudged its way back towards the black, with a pre-tax loss of #561,000 against a loss of #2.6 million last time. Turnover increased by 16 per cent to #32 million from #27 million previously. The computer solutions and automotive divisions reported growth of 23 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.

Justifying the performance, Andy Peart, marketing director at Kalamazoo, said it expected to return to full profitability by the end of the next financial year: 'We did make a loss, but it's set against very heavy product development on our Elite product. We've been selling it in the UK for several years, but we are looking to make it a global product and we want initially to focus on the European market.'

He added that Kalamazoo was undergoing an internal overhaul at the hands of recently appointed chief executive, Malcolm Roberts, who joined the group in June from NCR.

'We think Kalamazoo will look and feel like a different company by this time next year. The current restructure will include a continuing emphasis on the organisation itself and also growth, both organic and through acquisitions,' Peart stated.

Kalamazoo, which last year divested itself of its print division to focus on systems integration and IT for the motor dealership market, has recently won two large contracts with its Elite car dealer management systems.

Two weeks ago, Kalamazoo signed a contract to launch Elite across all outlets of McCarthy Motor Holdings.

Peart added that the company had also won a leading UK-based contract but was unable to disclose the customer.