Set-top box firm’s profits up

Set-top box manufacturer Pace Micro Technology saw profits rise fourfold in the first half of its financial year, as the company shipped more than double the number of boxes it delivered in the same period a year earlier.
But the company said its financial recovery would “take longer than was initially anticipated”, following on from a profit warning it gave last month.
In the 27 weeks to December 4, Pace shipped 2.1 million boxes – a half-year record – compared with 1 million for the corresponding period in 2003. The company – Europe’s largest maker of set-top boxes – said BSkyB remained an important customer in the UK, thanks to the increasing take-up of personal video recorder service Sky Plus.