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Coms Reports £15.1m Loss

MSPs
Coms has reported a £15.1m loss for its fiscal year ending 31st January, £10m relating to an impairment charge which was imposed on its telecoms arm which has since been sold to Timico for £2.5m in May. The disappointing results cap off a turbulent year for Coms which has seen its share price plummet after which it said goodbye to CEO David Breith. Former CEO is currently making an employment claim against his old firm.

In the subsequent management restructure Mark Braund has been appointed CEO and Spencer Dredge move into the CFO position

Frank Beechinor, chairman of Coms, sent a letter to shareholders saying "This past year has proved to be an exceedingly difficult year for the group.

"Having seen rapid change through the previous year and into 2014/15, through a number of acquisitions, the expectations for the business were high, however, over the course of the year, and despite several attempts to integrate the telecoms assets which the company had acquired, the management team was not able to secure the necessary anticipated savings."

Beechinor said the firm will focus on its managed services business going forward.

"Following the disposals of the telecoms assets, the group now comprises Redstone's infrastructure business and Darkside Studios. It is the board's intention to focus our efforts on growing our core infrastructure business, Redstone, by developing our leading smart buildings product offering and expanding further our successful managed services business," he said.

For the year ending 31 January, Redstone's profit was £246,000 on revenues of £29.5m, within the Coms group, but it "suffered from the uncertainty created by the poor trading in the telephony services division".

"Reflecting acquisitions and a full year of contribution from Redstone", Coms overall revenues were £46m for the year ending 31 January, up 228 per cent.

"With additional capital injected into the business, the disposal of all of the group's loss-making businesses and the appointment of a new management team, my board colleagues and I are confident that the group is now better placed to embark on a more successful period of stability and growth," Beechinor added.