Companies: CRC   

CRC Group, the Aim-listed after-sales service provider in the mobile phone and digital TV sectors, cheered the market this morning with a bullish trading statement in advance of next month's interim figures, writes Robert Tyerman.

CRC, which draws half its revenues from supplying warranty screening and repair services to Nokia, last year increased pre-tax profits from £2 million to £5 million, helped by acquisitions. According to chairman Michael Peagram, the company has done better than it expected in the six months to June.

The firm recently won a contract to supply warranty screening and repair services for the new Explorer 4000DVB set-tops made by leading international player Scientific-Atlanta. It is now 'confident... of further contract wins in the near future'.

Finance director Chris Matthews concedes that volume growth has slowed this year (last year turnover rose 81 per cent to £98.1 million), but says the company has improved 'internal efficiencies'.

CRC sets considerable store by the Scientific-Atlanta contract. The Explorer 4000 DVB is the first of its digital set-top boxes to be launched in Europe and could generate significant extra servicing business.

Matthews says that although the mobile telephone market is not growing as fast as in the past technical improvements and new models should encourage users to change phones, thus maintaining a buoyant market. Nokia, for example, is introducing 20 models.

CRC's shares, which have traded between 190p and 252p over the past 12 months, perked up 13p to 231p on the trading update.