SITA SC Middle East and Africa reports strong 2004 results

"SITA SC ended 2004 in a strengthened competitive position, having gained a record amount, US$28.3 million, of new business in MEA," said Hans-Peter Kohlhammer, CEO and Director General of SITA SC. "We have contributed to a reduction in operational costs for the airlines through substantial price reductions, adapted our offering to better meet the needs of airlines and started new services such as consulting and network integration. Our ultimate gauge of success however, is customer retention, which stood at a phenomenal 97.6 percent for MEA at the end of 2004."

2004 MEA revenues came in at US$135.6 million, compared to US$129.6 million in 2003. The 2004 results are mainly a reflection of three factors:

• A successful restructuring of the company's worldwide organisation starting in 2003;

• SITA SC's continued success in migrating the region's airlines from expensive 'legacy networks' to flexible and low-cost Internet Protocol (IP) - based networks;

• Company's renewed leadership in driving down network costs, as demonstrated by SITA SC's price reductions valued at more then US$80 million across both legacy and IP connections.

"Strong regional management, coupled with the dedication and focus of our employees in MEA on providing the most cost-effective services to our customers made us successful in 2004," added Mr. Kohlhammer.

"Managing growth while keeping costs under control has been a key challenge for our customers in 2004," said Hani El-Assaad, MEA Regional Vice President. "With our ongoing price reduction initiatives, and our new service portfolio we are well positioned to support our customers' growth and profitability in 2005."