Page 18: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 1997)

MARINE FINANCE

Marine Electronics Merger Introduces New Player

Simrad hafs merged with

Kongsberg Norcontrol in a move to expand i£s presence in the marine electronics market. The new com- pany, Kongsberg Maritime, com- bines more than $300 million in annual revenues from Simrad and

Kongsberg and will account for more than half of all of Kongsberg's businesses, which include defense and aerospace products.

To best accommodate the mar- itime market, Kongsberg Maritime has been organized into four main operating divisions geared to serve specific markets. The new depart- ments are: Kongsberg Norcontrol for the merchant marine;

Kongsberg Norcontrol Systems for marine training and traffic man- agement; Kongsberg Simrad for offshore and ocean science study; and Simrad for yachting and fish- eries. The company also seeks to develop an extensive international network by employing 600 of its 1,600 workers in 20 different coun-

V..X a How come I never experience the busy signal at Eik? Are we your only

Inmarsat client?

EIK has a greater capacity than any other Land Earth Station in tries. "Each of the companies was already in a world-class league in its own niche," said Kongsberg

Maritime President and CEO Jan

Erik Korssjoen. "Current mar- ket trends indicate that the new company will have much brighter prospects for the future than the two operations would have had separately." ,

An order for an advanced shut- tle tanker to be built by Astilleros

Espanoles SA's Sestao yard will combine Kongsberg Simrad's dynamic positioning and process control with Kongsberg

Norcontrol's integrated bridge sys- tems. (continued from previous page) which, in turn, should ^llow PGS to earn a better rate of return." the Inmarsat system. We were the first. We are the biggest. We offer global coverage. And we take pride in always being first with the latest in Inmarsat technology. Perhaps most important of all - one of the most demanding clients on the seven seas, the

Norwegian shipping indus- try, rely on us to keep them connected at all times in their highly competitive market. At EIK our one and only concern is to provide our clients with a 24 hour personal service and every- thing the Inmarsat technology has to offer.

Except of course that one thing - the busy signal.

EIK

LAND EARTH STATION

FOR INMARSAT

Telenor

General Maritime Services

Establishes New Dept. s

General Maritime Services has established a separate department within its main office in White

Plains, N.Y., to act as an agent for overseas consolidators, groupage operators, NVOs, forwarders and other overseas transportation enti- ties. This new department will represent firms in various coun- tries and will not represent more than one competing firm in the same region to avoid conflicts of interest.

Boatracs Reports Significant

Profits •r

Boatracs Inc. reported record revenues of $3.5 million for 1996, compared with $2.6 million for 1995, an increase of 31 percent.

Net loss for the ye*ar was $905,000. "Messaging revencfies for the year increased 52 percent over 1995," said Michael Silverman, presi- dent and CEO. "This is due pri- marily to increased usage as our customers more fully integrated the Boatracs system into their overall operations. We anticipate this trend to continue." Revenues for the fourth quarter 1996 were $762,000, up frofa $598,000 for the same quarter a year ago. Net loss for the quarter was $268,000 com- pared with a net loss of $289,000 in the same quarter a year ago, a reduction of seven percent. The loss for the year is attributed to continued software development costs, associated expenses for addi- tional sales personnel and costs related to the development of the

European markets

Maritime Reporter/Engineering News

For more information please contact Telenor Satellite Services AS,

P.O.Box 6914 St. Olavs Plass, N-0130 Oslo, Norway.

Tel: +47 22 77 79 50. Telefax: +47 22 77 71 78. Telex: 56 72 666.

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