Melbourne IT may sell off businesses as ICANN delays hit bottom line
Melbourne IT is looking into selling some of its business units after warning the Australian markets today that 2012 profit is likely to come in below 2011 levels.
The brand protection registrar, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, partly blamed delays to ICANN’s new gTLD program for an expected 10% dip in earnings before interest and tax.
The company said it is “in the process of pursuing possible ownership alternatives for its current portfolio of businesses”, and that overseas buyers have already been identified.
While Melbourne did not specify which units face the chop, my hunch is that it’s not talking about its domain name business.
Digital Brand Management services, which includes its registrar, is performing “strongly” despite the delays, the company said.
However, its small business, enterprise and legal content management businesses are suffering from competition and spending freezes among government clients, the company said.
Even the registrar business is facing challenges. In the first half of 2012, its total domains under management dropped 8%. The brand management side of that business is now bigger.
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