ERP giant Infor reported a loss for 2022 after paying a legal settlement of $6.5 million to Auckland Transport late last year.
The settlement appears to relate to issues with Auckland Transport's ambitious and long-running asset management project.
Infor's revenue grew to $49 million during the year to the end of December, up from $46.8 million, however, it recorded a small, $1599 loss after paying the settlement, down from a $5.5 million profit in 2021.
Identifying the project at the heart of the settlement was not easy, however, it was mentioned in an audit report because the settlement had not been correctly recognised in Auckland Transport's 2022 accounts after it was received very late in the financial year.
In 2020, Auckland Transport's $25 million asset management project was poised to progress after an initial trial on Auckland's bridges.
AT's executive general manager of technology, Roger Jones, told Reseller News an $8.4 million minimum viable product (MVP) had been created to trial the system on the city's bridge assets.
This was delivered on time and on budget apart from a two week delay of go-live due to COVID-19.
AT then began work to extend the new SaaS platform to cover public transport facilities – bus stops, depots and so on. After that, roads were to be the next target.
Both Infor and Auckland Transport have been asked for comment on the settlement.
Meanwhile, SAP New Zealand reported modest revenue growth from $184 million to $187.4 million for the year to the end of December. However, after tax profit dropped from $13.2 million to $5.3 million on increased costs.
SAP reported strong cloud growth, up from $51 million to $67.6 million while sales for more traditional software licenses and support fell from $80.5 million to $63.1 million.
Both ERP companies have been busy in the local market and have faced project challenges.
Infor is involved in a large rollout at meat company Alliance Group, which on last report in late 2021 was over budget. Local government rollouts at Waikato Regional Council and more recently Northland Regional Council have also faced headwinds, partly due to disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Infor have stretched resources with numerous implementations occurring in the region," a February update on Waikato Regional Council's "Project Reboot" noted.
Last October, Infor was also selected to perform platform discovery for the government's controversial Three Waters reforms. Since then the programme has undergone significant politically-driven changes.
Infor is also known to be delivering new software for fishing giant Sealord.
SAP, meanwhile, had at least one problematic project of its own, at milk processor Synlait.
Just before Christmas, Synlait told shareholders shipments of its ingredient products had been delayed due to its SAP implementation which, combined with lower supply, resulted in a 45 per cent drop in sales in that category.
"In December 2022, after significant SAP stabilisation efforts, the monthly ingredient export run rate is back to near-normal levels and is expected to be entirely caught up at the start of Q4 FY23," the company reported.
Net debt and related interest costs would also be higher than forecast at in the half year due to the impact of delayed sales on cash flows.
Costs at Synlait were also driven up due to SAP stabilisation activities, supply chain challenges and inflation.
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Tags ERPSAPenterprise softwareInforWaikato Regional CouncilSynlaitAlliance Group
