IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 29 November
29-11-2010
by Deirdre McArdle
Gamestop enters the red | Unity signs EUR1m outsourcing deal
The Irish Times reports that the Irish arm of video game retailer Gamestop went into the red last year, posting pretax losses of EUR3 million, due in part to the lack of any new generation of games consoles. According to documents just filed with the Companies Office, Gamestop Group Ltd recorded the EUR3 million pretax loss in the 12 months to 30 January 2010, compared to pretax profits of EUR2.86 million the previous year.
The same paper says that Unity Technology Solutions, the company that emerged from the Calyx receivership in September, has done a EUR1 million deal with oil and gas exploration group Petroceltic. The exploration group has hired Unity to provide outsourced IT services for its headquarters in Dublin and its offices in Europe and North Africa. The deal is understood to be worth over EUR1 million to Unity, and is one of the first major new contracts won by the company since it took over the Calyx business in the autumn.
The Irish Examiner says that Irish limited companies can save a collective EUR29 million by filing annual accounts online, availing of new procedures permitting company directors to sign the documents electronically. By law, firms must file an annual return to the Companies Registration Office (CRO) with a set of accounts attached and signed by two directors. Until now, only hard-copy accounts with hand-written signatures could be filed, costing firms EUR247 each on average in printing, paper and postage. Now, an electronic system for filing annual returns with signed accounts is available for the first time at the CRO, at an estimated cost of EUR45.
According to the Wall Street Journal, US officials shut down more than 70 websites last week, in a move against counterfeit and pirated products. Domain names of the affected sites were seized by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the Department of Homeland Security, under court-approved warrants.
The Sunday Independent reports a EUR20 million computerised finger printing system, which was supposed to link up with British and other European police forces to detect immigrants illegally claiming social welfare, is lying unused four years after it was installed in the Garda Immigration Bureau. Civilian staff hired by the Garda were expected to use the system but the 50 staff at the Garda National Bureau of Immigration headquarters, who are members of the Civil and Public Service Union (CPSU), have refused to operate it, saying it is inappropriate for clerical staff to do a job that Gardai should do.
According to the Sunday Tribune, Irish Facebook users have been receiving private messages containing photos of naked women, and a link to a Facebook page, from where they are diverted to a porn website. Rose Tully, a spokeswoman for the voluntary Parents Education and Children's Health organisation, said it was "disturbing" that users of Facebook who include children were being targeted in this way, and advised parents to be vigilant.
The Sunday Times writes that an approach by Israeli firm NICE Systems has triggered a bidding war for financial software firm Norkom Technologies. Through its ownership of Actimize, NICE is Norkom's biggest competitor. Its approach has led several industry players, including an unnamed global software group, to prepare counter bids.
The Sunday Business Post reports that high-tech firms claim that investment and innovation will suffer following the Government's decision to scrap a tax break on patent royalties in the four-year plan announced last week. The patent royalty scheme allowed companies to earn up to EUR5 million in patent royalty income tax-free and pay tax-free dividends to shareholders. The scheme has been closed off with immediate effect.
The paper also reports that location-based business directory site Yelp is to offer users check-in based deals. Ireland will be among the markets to debut the service, which will allow businesses like hotels to offer check-in based special offers. Foursquare and Facebook Places already offer similar services.
The same paper says that security firm Sophos has denied reports that the Stuxnet worm could be used by criminals to wreak havoc on major infrastructure. Paul Ducklin, head of technology for the Asia Pacific region at Sophos, said much of the speculation about the worm has been driven by anonymous sources making vague allegations about its ability to knock out power stations, emergency services and even Britain's transport network.
The paper also notes that Wi-Fi provider Bitbuzz has signed a deal with the Carlton hotel group, and Barracuda FX has been named the Best High Growth company at InterTradeIreland's Seedcorn Business Competition.
Finally, according to the same paper, Eircom has recorded a 5.6 percent drop in revenues to EUR442 million for its fiscal first quarter. EBITDA remained stable at EUR168 million, while CEO Paul Donovan said revenue pressures remained in all areas of the business, but were being offset by continued cost-reduction measures.
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