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CEO of Zenitel says company is in pole position to benefit from market opportunities in systems integration space Full article published: 08/13/2002     PATRICK DE GROOTE is Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ZENITEL


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TWST: Can we start with a brief introduction to Zenitel (Brussels:SAIE.BR) and a word or two about the history behind the company?

Mr. De Groote: We’re a leading European system integrator and service supplier of wireless and wired technology for the professional market. The Group has its headquarters in Brussels (Belgium) as well as representations in over 55 countries worldwide. Zenitel is structured around two Business Units: Wireless Solutions and Communication & Security Systems. We also have a 50% participation in the joint venture EMG EuroMarine Electronics GmbH. In our core business we have a headcount of some 1000 people worldwide and sales of 153 million Euros. If we include our financial stock participation we are 2000 people with sales of 396 million Euros. Our market is the professional one, which means basically blue lights, industry, banking & finance, building security, infrastructure like airports, and confined areas such as tunnels, parking lots, etc. We position ourselves as a leading European player in two major fields: in wireless communication, and in communication and security systems. The latter is a mixture of wireless and wired technology. The technologies that we implement are professional mobile radio, satellite communication, digital and analog radio communication (including Tetra), satellite communication, DECT, GSM-R and so on. The history of Zenitel dates back to 1901, when a group of Belgian entrepreneurs founded C.T.S.F. - Compagnie Générale de Télégraphie sans Fil, later SAIT (Société Anonyme Internationale de Télégraphie sans Fil). None less than King Leopold II and Gulglielmo Marconi, the inventor of the wireless telegraph, supported them. Following World War II, SAIT (then known as SAIT Electronics) entered into various cooperation agreements with other companies including Radio Holland N.V. and Norsk Marconikompanie A/S. In 1992, the successful partnership with Radio Holland led to a take-over and SAIT Electronics began trading under the name SAIT-RadioHolland. The next milestone took place in 1999, when the company decided to restructure its organization and focus on core activities. In May 2000 a decision was taken on a merger between the Norwegian company Stento ASA and the reorganized SAIT-RadioHolland. In December 2001 the merged company changed its name into Zenitel with headquarters in Zellik (Brussels - Belgium).

TWST: How would you recommend an investor track your progress? Are there any specific metrics or milestones to watch out for?

Mr. De Groote: The EBITDA margins come first. We’re targeting a double digit in a few years from now. Second is the cash flow on revenue. This should be at least 15%. The return on capital employed should be at least 20%. If I look more closely at the balance sheet, the debt equity ratio and the equity ratio as such and the working capital are the three major elements. Earnings per share are important as well, though I’d like to make some cautionary remarks about the stock market over the next two years. We hope that the stock price will increase but it has been under pressure recently due to quick-profit traders. The stock exchange was not designed to enable people to make fast bucks. It was created for long-term investors, for raising capital and for giving structure to companies. If you use the stock exchange for other reasons you create an investors pool that is very insecure, with a kind of yo-yo effect as a result. After the crash of the Internet and the IT-sector we need a couple of years of stabilization to help create a new investor public on the stock market. At that point in time I would like to talk again about the share price.


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This interview is a small excerpt from a comprehensive interview published in The Wall Street Transcript on 08/13/02. For more information call (212) 952 7400. The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse any of the comments made by interviewees, and does not make stock recommendations.

Copyright 2002, Wall Street Transcript Corp.

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