Pace Micro Technology, the U.K.-based set top box (STB) manufacturer, is confident it will continue to grow its profits after releasing encouraging results this week. In the 27 weeks to Dec. 4, 2004, its profits increased to GBP3.1 million ($5.82 million). In the six months, the company also shipped 2.1 million STBs.

David Brocksom, Pace’s financial director hailed the company’s recent performance to Satellite News. He said, “Analysts are predicting profits for us for the full year of GBP6.5 to 7 million ($12.1 to $13.1 million) of that nature. It is quite an incredible achievement as in the whole of last year, we managed to ship 2.2 million STBs, and in the first six months of this year we hit 2.1 million. It is a huge increase in getting product out of the door and getting it delivered. Doubling in six months is quite an impressive achievement.”

The company, which has relationships with many DTH platforms such as BSkyB in the United Kingdom, Foxtel in Australia and Sky Italia in Italy, hopes to continue its strong financial progress. It also hopes to play a key role, particularly in the developing Personal Video Recorder (PVR) and High Definition TV (HDTV) markets. Brocksom expects HDTV in Europe to really take off in 2006.

Brosksom said, “We see the 2006 World Cup in Germany as being quite a catalyst in promoting HD services in Europe. It all seems to be coming together for this type of timespan, it fits in with the availability of the silicon for MPEG-4 compression and there are HDTVs or HD-ready TVs being sold already. It is a question of when the operators decide when they are going to start promoting HDTV and when they have the bandwidth available to do it.

He added, “Today HD is predominantly in the United States, but it will happen in Europe. A combination of things will drive it forward, with the availability of MPEG-4 being quite a crucial technology for us.”