Pace eyes US market for growth

NEWS Pace Micro Technology, manufacturer of digital set-top boxes, has said it expects revenue to rise by 10 per cent this year and grow at an even faster rate in 2002. The company whose boxes convert satellite, cable and terrestrial digital signals for analogue TV, said in a statement that its sales focus will be placed on the US market and away from the UK sector. Michael Bett, chairman at Pace Micro Technology said in a statement: "Our key market is the US, where advanced trial shipments have now commenced to multiple locations." Pace plans to cut prices by 15 to 25 per cent at the same time maintaining gross margins exceeding 23 per cent. "We believe such selling price reductions can only increase the attractiveness of Pace's products," said Bett. The company noted that turnover will accelerate in the second half of the financial year ending June 2002, "as full production for Time Warner and [cable firm] Comcast will be achieved towards the end of this financial year," said Bett. "We continue to expect that turnover will grow at a higher rate in the second half of the year," he added, as growth in the first half of this year will be at a lower rate than in the past.