Zonal back in the black with £1.33m profit

ZONAL Retail Data Systems, the maker of electronic point-of-sale systems, has returned to the black over its latest trading year.

The privately-owned Edinburgh business, whose systems are in place at a number of the major pub and hospitality chains, banked a pre-tax profit of £1.33 million for the year to June 30, 2007. That compared with a loss the year before of £92,906.

Sales were also strongly ahead, jumping to £17.07m, from £12.65m, according to the firm's latest accounts.

Zonal, which is owned by the McLean family, employs around 170 staff, mainly across Edinburgh.

Directors said in their report that the firm was starting to reap the benefits of plans put in place over the past few years which resulted in "a strong performance in all areas of the business".

The group's products, such as the Aztec, were enjoying take-up by many new customers, with existing customers taking on upgrades.

Zonal said that it was investing heavily in software development and the customer service side of its business while also "continuing to explore diversification into other related and complementary market sectors".