Powerlan has announced an operating profit after tax of close to $10 million for the twelve months to 30 June, 2000.
Operating revenue for the period was $178.2 million with profits at $9.991 million, well above the expectations the IT&T service provider expected during its initial public offering.
The result represents over twice the expected revenue Powerlan's prospectus forecast for the period ($85.7 million).
Of Powerlan's 22 acquisitions in the last 12 months, much emphasis has been placed on the purchase of CSSL, which gives the company a great deal of strength in the greater Asian region.
"The acquisition strategy contributed significantly," said chief financial officer Chris Voukidis. "We also had an underlying growth rate that was well above the marketplace."
This week KPMG named Powerlan the best performing Internet stock on the ASX, comparing its stock value gains of 600 per cent favourably to the crashed stock prices of other Internet players that went public during the last financial year.
The secret according to Voudikis, is to focus on profitability over growth from the outset.
"Frankly, the policy of Powerlan is that we will not sacrifice earnings in pursuit of revenues," Voukidis said, highlighting that Powerlan had been a solid private company for several years before going public.
"We don't consider ourselves an Internet stock anyway. We certainly provide services to the Internet market, but we are first and foremost an IT&T services company."