EBITDA was unchanged as the deal brought some "operational disturbance triggered by the acquisition, CFO Hans Henrik Thrane said in this week's earnings webcast. The BMI purchase was apparently spurred by serious declines in revenue in the U.S. While Columbus is seeking to improve those operations, Thrane continued the "existing U.S. business has not shown improvement." The BMI business also led Columbus to a 6-percent increase in consulting revenues worldwide. North America produced about $10 million in revenue, a roughly 88-percent increase over the first half of 2014. Consulting revenue on this continent was up 79.3 percent to about $6.7 million for the most recently ended period. Columbus is emphasizing sales of its own software, as it moves away from depending on Dynamics as its base. Revenue for its homegrown products rose by 63 percent for the half. It is also emphasizing sales from industry applications—primarily food, retail and manufacturing—and income from those market now comprises 78 percent of the total.
INTERDYN BMI BUY LIFTS COLUMBUS Featured
The January acquisition of Interdyn BMI lifted results for Danish reseller Columbus for the first half ended March 31. The purchase of the Minneapolis, Minn.-based Dynamics VAR boosted Columbus' consulting business worldwide and had a significant impact on its operations in the United States. Worldwide, revenue rose 16 percent to about $35 million. EBIDTA for the most recently ended year was about $2 million, an increase of 9 percent over the year earlier half. Two months of BMI results were included, but by itself that boosted U.S. revenue by 88 percent over the prior year.
