The pan-European data centre and telecoms services firm euNetworks owned by Irishman Noel Meaney has reported total revenues of €24m for the past year with profits of €7m.
“2006 was a year of investment and consolidation in our core networking business in which we completed agreements with 47 new customers and signed €43m in new business, a growth of over 250pc over our previous year,” Meaney said.
“In the year we completed a major long-haul network acquisition, went live with our Amsterdam Data Centre, divested non-core businesses and doubled sales and marketing resources. With the near completion of our next-generation design and build-out we are well positioned to sustain and accelerate our performance in 2007,” Meaney said.
Meaney established his euNetworks business originally as Global Voice after acquiring the former assets of Metromedia after leading a management buyout.
Prior to the buyout, Metromedia had spent €650m deploying data centres and fibre infrastructure across various European cities including Dublin. Before its parent firm fell into financial difficulties, Metromedia was close to completing a US$110m investment in Ireland, consisting of a US$75m data centre and a US$45m fibre ring that stretched for 100km around Dublin City.
Meaney’s Global Voice listed on the Singapore stock exchange in October 2004 through a reverse takeover of Horizon Education and Technologies. The company now has fibre networks across 14 European cities, which provide access to key locations within a city including business and industrial parks, educational centres, financial centres, government buildings and internet exchanges.
Last June Meaney acquired the assets of major European intercity fibre optic network across Europe owned by Viatel Networks in a cash deal valued at €25m. The network was originally built at a cost of €2bn.
This 5,424km long-haul network connects five countries – Germany, Holland, the UK, France and Belgium – and 18 cities. EuNet said that the network, which combines long-haul with last-mile fibre, uniquely positions the company to offer corporate and carrier clients end-to-end connectivity across Europe.
The company said it is also nearing completion of a next-generation network through an investment in high-capacity dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM), which will link Europe’s largest data centres, exchanges and financial districts door-to-door via a single provider.
By John Kennedy
