Harris to offload broadcast kit division

The company said it would divest the Broadcast Communications unit because it was no longer aligned with its long-term strategy.

Proceeds from the sale will be invested in the core business and passed on to shareholders.

Harris Broadcast Communications senior vice president global sales and services Richard Scott told Broadcast the decision to offload the division was not a surprise.

“The core business is centred on government contracts. While the broadcast business deals with government-run broadcasters, the majority of the business is commercial so the board decided it would be best for both if we separated.

“For all intents and purposes it is business as usual, and that applies to our own staff, our suppliers and customers; they should see no impact on the day-to-day business,” Scott said.

Harris Broadcast Communications makes tools for asset management, multiviewers, networking and encoding platforms, routing systems and servers.The company today reported third quarter revenue of $1.48 billion compared with $1.41 billion for the same period last year. The company made a loss of $353 million during the third quarter.

Scott said it was unfair to suggest the broadcast division had underperformed and said that the broadcast business was “capable of standing independently”.

“It would be easy to pick holes and find weak spots because of the breadth of the portfolio. Overall, the business is performing well. We don’t routinely report Broadcast Communications outside the Network Solutions group but we are a strong organisation. At NAB we had significant product releases that just don’t come from a business that is underperforming.

“We’re a substantial business with a broad product portfolio and a wide ranging spectrum of employees in offices all over world, so the owner could for example be an equity partner but we could just as easily fit into a bigger company focused on media industry.”