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To: Arrow Hd. who wrote (4781)	3/9/1999 3:45:00 AM
From: Dorine Essey	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8220

INTERVIEW-Circle posts record Asia growth March 9, 1999 03:07 AM By Angela Tan SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - Global transportation and logistics provider Circle International Group Inc enjoyed record growth in the Asia-Pacific last year, despite the regional financial slowdown, company officials said on Tuesday. "Without the one-time charge last year, we had a record growth in Asia-Pacific last year," Paul Graham, Circle's president and chief operating officer for the region said. For the year ended December 31, 1998, the San Francisco-based group made a one-time charge of $10.74 million, denting net income to $18.52 million against $26.33 million previously. Graham, in Singapore for the official opening of Circle's new logistics plant, said Circle suffered "some slides in Indonesia and Malaysia, which affected directly group earnings," but in local currency terms gains were over 38 percent. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for about 23 percent of Circle's global business, which includes clients like IBM IBM , Motorola Inc MOT and SmithKline Beecham . Circle's chairman and chief executive officer David Beatson said the region was key for corporate growth. "Asia is going to grow more rapidly than some of the other markets. Asia is going to be a bigger percentage of our total in the future," he said, noting that the U.S. is still largest in revenue. Fuelling the optimism was the regional presence of the world's largest original equipment manufacturers. Circle, which had acquired 13 companies in recent years, is now poised to grow from within, Beatson said. "We are still looking at a couple of key markets where we think additional acquisitions might very much strengthen our positions. But there will be fewer acquisitions and more growth from within," he said. He said these acquisitions would enhance the group's ocean forwarding and logistics operations, where rapid growth was seen. Logistics account for about 19 percent of Circle's total revenues, ocean forwarding 13 percent, air forwarding 39 percent and imports and custom clearance account 29 percent. -- Singapore newsroom (65) 8703083; Fax 7768112 -- E-mail: singapore.newsroom@reuters.com REUTERS