Psion upbeat over year-end results

Psion saw sales increase by 13 per cent for the year ending 31 December to £159.9 million, up from the 1997 figure of £142 million. Pre-tax profit was £23.3 million, up from last year’s £11.4 million - an increase of 104 per cent. Its Symbian joint venture (with Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola) was cited as pulling in some £33 million in sales. Psion’s chairman David Potter said: "1998 was a momentous year for Psion. By forging a key alliance with the world leaders in mobile cellular phones and associated network technology, we have positioned Symbian as the potential world leader in operating systems for mobile devices which access data through telecommunication networks." Analysts have said that Psion fared better in the first half of the year, with investment in Symbian responsible for profit being pulled down by eight per cent in the second half. Psion had also continued to fail to break into the US market, analysts said. ®