Collapse of the car industry weakens demand for navigation systems and GPS smartphones

As a consequence, the business of Arobs Transilvania, software developer for mobile applications and GPS device distributor, was severely dented ever since the economic crisis set in.

“Even if certain business lines performed well, such as those dedicated to spending cutback, other were affected – distribution of navigation devices”, Voicu Oprean (photo), managing director of Arobs told Wall-Street.

The distributor’s first-half turnover stood at 3 million euros, up 10% from year-ago period.

The advance reflects the high demand for software products designed to spending cuts and increase in staff efficiency.

However, if at the end of last year the head of the company had projected a 10 mn euro turnover in 2009, the first-half trend indicates revenues of around 8-9 million euros by year-end. “But it depends upon the general economic conditions, upon what happens both in Romania and abroad”, said the manager of the company.

The first quarter was marked by the impact of the uncertainty on consumer spending. Clients have reassessed their gadget habits, and set other priorities.

“If we look at Q1 2009 in contrast with Q12008, we can say that in outsourcing and tech solutions designed to spending cut and efficiency improvement, the increase in client database was considerable, and therefore, the turnover on this business line went up 15%”, said Voicu Oprean.

The company's main objectives for the remainder of the year is to increase its client base and to tailor its services to their needs, whether it's a distributor, constructor, security company, or even producer.