Bob Scott reporting in his weekly Insights column.
A couple of months ago, I had an involved conversation with someone from Columbus, the Danish Dynamics reseller, about the impact of Interdyn BMI on the company’s financials. This week’s webcast of results left no doubt. CEO Thomas Honoré pointed to areas in which Minneapolis-based BMI, purchased by Columbus in February, was a major factor. A 15-percent increase in consulting revenue was “largely driven by Interdyn BMI in the U.S.,” he said. Overall, Columbus had net profit after tax of about $3.9 million, an increase of 47.9 percent from the first half of 2014. Earnings got a lift from the impact of currency. Revenue for the most recently ended period was roughly $83.1 million, up 26 percent from a year earlier. Revenue from the United States more than doubled to about $28 million and executives attributed the overall rise to the inclusion of BMI. The BMI contribution overcame a drop in Russia revenue, driven by the decline in the ruble, and in Norway, which the company says has had management issues. Columbus said revenue from its industry products increased to 78 percent of revenue for the first half, up from 76 percent a year ago. And overall, sales of Columbus software increased by 57 percent. “Columbus software is strategic to our business,” Honoré said.