The broadcast and media equipment sectors have grown in sales and profitability, according to two IABM reports.

The IABM (International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers) Industry Index tracks aggregate sales and profit trends, based on latest reported financial performance.

The new report notes a positive overall performance in terms of profitability and sales.

However, according to the IABM “the overall result conceals the long-standing disparity in returns between large and small companies.

“Small companies are still struggling with the technological upheaval characterising the industry but report better numbers in this edition of the report.”

The IABM’s Benchmark Report also claimed that the broadcast and media sector has performed well financially compared to similar industries over the last six months.

The report says that companies are also increasing their product offerings through increased R&D spending and the hire of new sales staff.

But the trade body warns that the positive results should be read with consciousness of the market’s uncertainty, stemming from the technological transition affecting the industry, which can translate into reluctance to invest in new projects, and that looking forward, the negative macroeconomic outlook should be taken into account as well.

It noted that the Greek crisis has cast doubts on the stability of the Eurozone, triggering a vicious cycle in the foreign exchange markets and that the Euro has depreciated whereas the US dollar and Sterling have appreciated, undermining the exports of UK and US companies.

IABM elects new board and chair

The IABM has announced its newly elected board members, including the appointment of a new IABM chair, James Gilbert, founder and joint managing director of broadcast graphics vendor Pixel Power.

Joining Gilbert on the IABM board are previous chair Jan Eveleen, Axon Digital Design; Kevin Usher, Avid; Mark Gederman, ChyronHego; Nicki Fisher, Clear-Com; Ben Davenport, Dalet; Marco Lopez, Grass Valley; Tom Favell, Hi-Tech Systems; Glenn Lebrun, Imagine Communications; Paul Nicholls, Phabrix; Roger Thornton, Quantel; Peter Sykes, Sony; David MacGregor, TSL; Mark Osborn, Vitec Videocom and Jordi Capdevila Espitia, VSN.

The new board also includes four non-elected, appointed members: Derek Owen, non-executive director; Graham Pitman, vice-chair; Lucinda Meek, finance director and Peter White, chief executive.

Elected every two years, the board sets, reviews and changes the IABM’s policies and has overall financial control of the association.

The new chair and board members are elected by the outgoing board.

Chair James Gilbert said: “These are exciting and challenging times for our industry with the rise of multi-platform content delivery and IP based solutions.

“Looking forward, I believe IABM needs to play a leading role in this transition, by supporting both the long established and the newer companies.

“The new board represents well the diversity within the industry and has tremendous enthusiasm and commitment to ensure IABM delivers growth, support and diversity to its membership.”

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