| Athens, 28/08/00 |
| |
|
31% growth rate and many prospects for the future of the Greek IT Market of 1999, according to a study by Strategic International
SA.
|
|
|
|
Continuing its steadily upwards course, the Greek IT Market reached 385,68 bln Drs. in
size for 1999, increased by 30.99% since last year, when it was 294.48 bln Drs.,
according to the study "Strategic Overview of the Greek IT Market 1999-2002". As in
the last years, the main drivers was the personal systems market with a value of 130.85
bln Drs. (a 22.2% increase from 1998), as well as the software sector with a growth of
52.85% and a size reaching 93.1 bln Drs. According to the same study of Strategic
International SA, The Greek IT Market is expected to exceed 1 trillion Drs. in
2002. |
|
|
|
|
Smaller Growth Rates than Expected
1999 was quite a good year for the Greek IT Market, which reached the size of 385.68 bln Drs. The respective figure for 1998 was 294.48 bln Drs., and the growth rate is estimated to be 30.99%. The IT sector for 1999 was characterized from a wave of mergers and acquisitions, mainly inside the
ASE.
|
|
|
|
Figure 1
The Greek IT Market, Size, 1999
(Bil. GDR) |
|
|
|
|
| |
| Source: Strategic International/ K.Kataras SA |
|
|
|
The main drivers of growth, according to the study of Strategic International/ K.Kataras SA,
were:
|
| The constantly dynamic PC Market in Greece, with 330,000 new PCs sold in
1999. |
|
|
The Υ2Κ problem that boosted many system replacements, and also helped support services. |
|
| The wave of equipment renewals in the banking sector. |
|
| Cheap investing capitals flow from the Athens Stock
Exchange. |
|
| The very good performance of the Greek Economy. |
|
|
The US $ raise towards GRD, making Greek IT products more competitive against imported ones. |
|
|
|
|
The Lowest Growth Rates for the last Three Years
The growth rates of the Greek IT Market continue to be more than triple those of Europe
(EU 15), despite that in 1999 they marked a three-year low. This is due to the fact that IT in Greece is far behind the European levels and a special effort is needed in order to catch up with our European
Colleagues.
|
|
|
|
Chart 2
Greek and EU15 (Average) IT Market, Growth Rates (%), 1998 - 2002 |
|
|
|
|
| |
| Source: Strategic International /K.Kataras SA |
| Note: The average of the EU15 countries derives from ΕΙΤΟ 2000 |
|
|
|
The following years, however, the growth rates are going to rise again, according to the analysts of Strategic International SA, as shown in chart 2, mainly because
of:
|
|
• The government plans for
the Society of Information.
• The 3rd Community Support Framework
• The anticipated increase of Internet penetration
• The good performance of the PC Market
• The growth of IT Services in Greece
• The good economic environment of Greece
|
|
|
|
The low growth rates in relation to the 1997 and 1998 levels perfectly reflects the targets orientation of big companies in the industry, that focused on takeovers and stock market earnings. The same fact is also reflected on the average profit margin of the Top 20 IT companies, that raised much less than the sales of those companies in
1999.
|
| |
Almost All Sectors Grew in 1999
Regarding sectors of the Greek Market, the main trends recorded for 1999
are: |
|
Personal Systems (PSs)
The PS Market marked a growth by 21.26% in value, while PCs sold in 1999 were 330.000. The only discord was the drop in portable PCs and workstations sales, in terms of
units.
|
|
|
Multi-User Systems
The Multi-User Systems Market marked a drop by 16.02% in 1999, mainly because of low Internet penetration in Greece, creating a low demand for
servers. |
|
|
Peripherals
Peripherals increased by 24.72% in size for 1999, following the course of PSs, that presented an equivalent
growth.
|
|
|
Services
1999 was a good year for services that grew by 44.54% in value, with System Integration leading the
industry.
|
|
|
Software
The software sector witnessed the highest IT growth in 1999, increasing its value by 52.85% and creating the basis for a similar growth in the future. The main drivers were the dynamic companies of the industry and the launching of new products like ERP and
CRM.
|
|
| |
| The Athens Stock Exchange Helped Revenues of the Top 20 IT Companies in 1999 |
|
Marking a growth rate double than that of the total IT market (61.9% compared to 30.99% respectively) the revenues of the Top 20 IT Companies reached a total of 452 bln Drs. in 1999, compared to just 279.1 bln Drs. in 1998, that can be partially justified from stock sales overvalues, at a time when the Athens Stock Exchange was rising constantly, but also from strengthening their position in the local market. There were rearrangements at the top of the list and in the four leading positions, while there were only two newcomers in the overall list. Finally, the average profit margin ranged very low, at
12%.
|
| |
Table 1 |
|
The Top 20 Greek IT Companies Ranked by Revenue - 1999, (Revenues in bln
Drs.) |
|
|
|
|
| |
| Source: Strategic International /K.Kataras SA |
| |
| Great Prospects for the Future |
|
The very good prospects for IT in Greece, as pointed above, lead to the conclusion that the specific market will have particularly good prospects in the future. As seen in chart 2, the analysts of Strategic International SA predict a raise that in 2002 will exceed 44% and will lead the IT Market above 1 trillion Drs. during that
year.
|
| |
| More Information about this study at
www.strategic.gr. |
|
For more information about this study, complete with table of contents, tables and charts list, and with some indicative analyses and tables of the study provided, as well as for orders or other info about this study, visit the site of Strategic International SA, at
http://www.strategic.gr.
|
|
|
|
|
