Kudelski enters transition year after record year

As reported by the NZZ am Sonntag, the Kudelski Group has declared 2005 a year of stagnation following its record results. The record profit in 2005, with a 15 percent increase in sales of CHF 697 million and a 21 percent increase in profits, is mainly attributable to the Digital TV division, where obsolete smartcards had to be replaced on a large scale in 2005. However, such transactions are not expected in 2006, which is why sales and profits will at best stagnate. Furthermore, the Kudelski Group intends to rent smart cards in future instead of selling them. In the rental model, revenue is not generated once, but is spread over the entire lifetime of the card. This will help to smooth out the sales trend. The Group also wants to invest in promising technologies such as television and video-on-demand via the Internet, TV on cell phones and disposable smart cards. According to NZZ am Sonntag, considerable investments are also being made in the development of a new generation of classic TV access systems.