Revenue for nine months in this country fell to about $18.5 million and dropped in every category. The big hit came in consulting income, which fell to roughly $11.6 million, off 23.3 percent. However, the company improved its earnings with before tax operating profit from continuing operations of about $5.1 million for the nine months, an increase of 127-percent over last year's corresponding period. With sales also off in Norway, revenue dropped by 1.4 percent to roughly $105.8 million. The biggest part of revenue comes from consulting services, with revenue there up 7 percent, despite the U.S. performance. Columbus continued its shift away from relying on third-party software, primarily the Microsoft Dynamics applications, to selling its software for retail, manufacturing and food companies. Together they accounted for 79 percent of total revenue, with manufacturing still the largest part. The strategy is part of what the company terms Columbus 15, which was declared successful by chairman Ib Kanøe and CEO Thomas Honoré.