Data#3 education sales tip $100m, claims lead in schools market

Data#3 claimed it was the national IT leader in education in 2016 when sales to schools surpassed $100 million.

Education sales made up more than 10 percent of the company's $983 million in sales for the year to 2016 financial year, according to details discussed at this week's annual general meeting.

The Brisbane-headquartered IT solution provider said its education sales figure was a powerful indicator that it had become a "national IT leader in the education market”.

At the AGM, chief executive Laurence Baynham also toasted the company's FY2017 half-year outlook, where he was appointed managing director after two years as CEO and 22 years as a member of the Data#3 team.

The focus on education was evident in Data#3’s recent contract to deliver 12,000 HP devices to Queensland schools. The contract forms part of the Queensland Department of Education and Training’s Computers for Teachers initiative, which equips teachers with new devices every four years.

“Our dedicated education team has worked closely with DET for over 22 years and we are delighted to have won the multi-year contract for the refresh of up to 12,000 HP devices,” Baynham told shareholders.

In its financial year to 30 June, Data#3 revenue rose 13 percent to $983.2 million, an increase of $67 million on the same period the previous year.

Looking to future finances, Baynham said solid improvement on the company’s 2016 first-half net profit before tax result of $6.1 million was expected.

“Our latest projections are showing first half NPBT in the range $7 to $8.5 million. The final result, however, is dependent on our ability to close the opportunities in our forecast, and satisfying the criteria for revenue and profit recognition in the first half,” he said.

“We are on track with our strategic and operational business plans for FY17 and this first-half projection underpins our full year expectation to improve on last year’s result.”

A focus on education, as well as health, make up part of the company’s three-year plan to grow its services revenue, in addition to security, public cloud and consumption-based services.

In 2016, Data#3 grew its services business by $27 million and its cloud business to $99 million, an increase of 110 percent.

Data#3’s education revenue is also likely to be bolstered by the company’s own Schools Applications Suite, which provides a selection of tools and application geared to drive collaboration, provide online access portals for students and staff, streamline staff communication, and increase data access and visibility across schools.