Synergy International Limited
Registered Office Address
Level 23
Mobil On The Park
157 Lambton Quay
Wellington
Directors
SHEWELL, Philip Morland
IRVING, David William
COMBER, Christopher
History
Incorporated: 24-JAN-1992
Major Shareholders
Staff - ~30%
Shares on Issue
7,008,225
Share Registry
BK Registries Ltd
Website
www.synergy.co.nz
News
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18.03.02 - Company Announcement
Synergy International Limited, the New Zealand based provider of intelligent information
technology services, is celebrating its tenth anniversary in business. Founded in March 1992
by chairman Chris Comber and chief executive officer David Irving, Synergy currently employs
more than 230 staff in Wellington, Auckland, Singapore and London. It is one of the fastest
growing companies in New Zealand (recently being placed 23 in the Deloittes/ Unlimited Fast
50) and is attracting an increasing number of clients from overseas.
David Irving attributes the company�s success to the dynamic culture he, Chris Comber and
their wives, instilled at its inception. He says: �Synergy�s development, and the services
the company provides, keeps up with what is happening in the global marketplace. As a result,
our 2000 revenue growth rate of 54% was well above the market rate of 13% and, since 1996, we
have maintained a significantly faster growth rate than that of New Zealand�s IT Services
Market. In the last financial year we grew in a declining market and our projected
performance sees this trend continuing, albeit more slowly.�
Synergy�s fast paced growth has been both organic and through acquisition but, says Irving,
�not at the expense of the quality of service provided�. In 1998 the company acquired the web
design company Agility and in June 2000 Innovus, an organisation known to have a similar
culture and values to those of Synergy. Web and multimedia capabilities were further
strengthened with the acquisition of the web design company, Hyperactive, in 2001.
Over a period of two years, from April 1997, the founders sold a third of the company to
staff. As share trading became more active, Synergy was taken onto the New Zealand Stock
Exchange�s Unlisted Securities Market in July 2000. Last year ANZ Private Equity was
introduced as a cornerstone shareholder and strategic partner. Last year also saw the launch
of Ericsson Synergy Limited, a joint venture in mobile internet solution development.
One of Synergy�s goals is to be recognised as world class by 2005 and �we are well on our
way,� says Irving. Several awards have been scooped in the past few years, including the 1998
Private Sector Business Development Quality Award, which enabled Synergy representatives to
tour a number of world-class US companies. Two New Zealand Quality Foundation Progress Awards
have been achieved and Synergy�s internal business excellence programme �helps to guide our
growth and make us increasingly competitive,� says Irving.
The fastest growing segments of Synergy�s service are currently in network and software
support services, and the ability to offer remote services to overseas clients through its
Multi-Site Development methodology. However, Irving says the focus on Synergy�s core services
of management consulting and software development is as strong as ever. This is borne out by
the recent refreshing of the company logo and imagery to reflect what the company has become,
and the restructuring of the way it does business as a strategic partner rather than a
business provider. �We continue to provide a broad range of business consulting and
information technology services to clients,� says Irving, �but Synergy�s differentiation is
our knowledge and understanding of the industry in which each client operates, made possible
through a dedicated sector team structure. This now includes specialist teams devoted to
financial services and utilities. �
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23.11.2001 - NZPA
Synergy man appointed to helm of mobile internet partner
New Zealand-based management consultant and IT company Synergy has lost its chief financial
officer to its mobile Internet partner. Ian Clarke has been appointed acting chief executive
of Ericsson Synergy, a joint venture between Synergy and Ericsson New Zealand to develop
mobile internet applications. A worldwide search has began for a permanent chief executive.
He replaces Stephen Crombie, who is leaving to take up a new position with Telecom NZ.
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Friday 17th August 2001 - NBR Personal Investor, by Stephen Ballantyne
A major deal between local IT management and technology business Synergy and Swedish
telecommunications giant Ericsson has created a New Zealand-based joint venture, Ericsson
Synergy Limited (ESL) employing 32 staff and selling New Zealand-developed mobile internet
solutions overseas.
Now the government has come to the party with the announcement last week of an allocation of
$750,000 to ESL from Industry New Zealand's Major Investment Fund and the possibility of a
further $850,000 being made available from the Foundation for Research, Science and
Technology.
The grant to ESL is the first from the Major Investment Fund, which is intended to support
new investment in New Zealand by working with local and overseas investors to reduce the
costs of business expansion and setting up in New Zealand. The funding is dependent on ESL
achieving a number of goals, including employment levels.
Since it was set at the beginning of this year, ESL has worked for clients in Australia,
Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines, Canada and Sweden.
The deal is certainly a feather in the cap for one of two ESL's parent companies, Wellington
based Synergy. Originally a speculative venture by a couple of IT professionals, Synergy has
made careful progress over its first nine years. It now has around 200 employees. According
to chief executive and co-founder David Irving, "We spent the first few years learning how
to do business - but in the last three or four years we've really got the hang of it!"
"We [Mr Irving and Synergy chairman Chris Comber] originally worked for another consultancy
which regarded itself as being at the high end, and wouldn't consider PC software
development. We found ourselves analysing business problems and suggesting solutions, but
not able to play a part in delivering those solutions. It was quite frustrating but we
realised that there was a gap in the market for an organisation that could do the whole
thing.
"We started with no customers; we had enough money saved to run for three months, and in
that time we managed to get things moving, with enough sales and cash flow to survive. We
built the company entirely out of cashflow for the first six years - towards the end of the
first year we felt confident enough to take on employees."
"Eventually we realised that it was silly to keep running that way, so we took on some
outside finance. The ANZ was one of our customers, having originally sought us out for our
banking software expertise, and they eventually bought a 10% share in the company; we now
have around 200 shareholders, about half of whom are Synergy employees."
Apart from the ESL joint venture, Synergy has been looking outward in other directions. It
already has offices in Sydney, Singapore and London and has worked to establish a multi-site
development working process that sees the company collaborating globally on projects - work
for overseas clients is analysed on site, then New Zealand coders produce the required
software.
"Our business processes enable the day-to-day changes in requirements to be reflected in the
software. By the time we deliver it, it's exactly what they want... There's a huge advantage
between what it costs to develop in London, for example, and what it costs to develop in New
Zealand. We compete very well on value."
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31.05.01 - Company Announcement
On 31 May 2001 the Directors resolved to a share split of the entire ordinary shares on issue
of Synergy International Limited. The share split will be on the basis of five shares for
every one held on the record date, the record date being 5pm Friday 22 June 2001. The shares
in issue will increase from 1,401,645 to 7,008,225. New share certificates will be issued on
Wednesday 27 June 2001.
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Friday, 28 July 2000 - Press Release
SYNERGY LISTS ON SECONDARY BOARD
New Zealand and Australia-based information technology company, Synergy International Ltd,
has listed on the Unlisted Securities Market (USM) of the New Zealand Stock Exchange.
The move follows amendments to the company's constitution to allow public ownership of its
shares which have previously been available only to staff.
Synergy chief executive, David Irving, says the decision to list on the USM does not
necessarily foreshadow a listing on the NZSE's main board.
"Given the public availability of shares we wanted to ensure that the process for their
purchase and sale was the most appropriate available to us. The secondary market will
facilitate this process for our shares."
Mr Irving said the listing followed a very successful couple of years for Synergy. According
to its annual report for the March 2000 year, the company enjoyed a 33 percent increase in
revenue in the period, compared to average IT industry growth of 10 percent for the last
financial year.
Mr Irving said a recent survey by research house IDC forecasts significant IT sector growth
in the next two years, particularly in e-commerce, Extranets and Intranets.
"According to IDC, more than 40 percent of organisations in New Zealand and Australia plan to
outsource most, if not all, of their systems technology support, application maintenance and
application development.
"The investments we have made in internal processes in the last 12 months have provided us
with a strong platform to take advantage of the growth we expect to see in the IT sector."
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