AMSTERDAM, 04/08/05 - Getronics, the Netherlands' biggest ICT company, is having trouble finding suitable personnel, despite currently high unemployment. "If you happen to know someone?" joked CEO Klaas Wagenaar yesterday at the presentation of first-half results.

Last April, shortly after the acquisition of fellow-ICT company PinkRoccade, Getronics started a search for 400 new staff, mainly experienced technical personnel, via a national campaign. "But they could not be found," said Wagenaar yesterday. He has only filled 125 jobs.

Out of necessity, Getronics is now going to train starters itself. "We will give more details about this Getronics University later this year," Wagener promised. Due to growth aspirations and natural wastage, Getronics expects to take on 800-1,000 new people annually.

Getronics finished the first half with a loss of 10 million euros, due to factors including one-off costs of 16 million euros for the integration of PinkRoccade. The underlying results however surpassed analysts' forecasts.

Excluding extraordinary charges, Getronics booked a positive result of 44 million euros, up from 27 million in the same period last year. Analysts had forecast about 38 million euros. Sales grew by 11 percent to 1.322 billion euros, mainly reflecting PinkRoccade's contribution since mid-March. This was in line with the market forecast.

"The worldwide ICT market will remain extremely competitive, added to which continental Europe in particular is economically fragile," said Wagenaar. "Economic reports show that the Netherlands and Italy, important markets for Getronics, currently have the weakest economies." Getronics generates around 40 percent of its sales on its home market.?