TeamTalk is ditching its name and that of its fibre business, CityLink, and rebranding both Vital.
“The new Vital brand will apply to TeamTalk’s existing radio business and CityLink’s existing fibre business from today and you can expect to hear from us in the future under the Vital brand,” the company says in a statement.
TeamTalk, which provides radio communications systems often used by emergency services because of their reliability, was founded by former managing director David Ware in 1992 and listed on NZX in 2004 after being rescued from oblivion by Paul Collins’ Active Equities.
“Later this year, we will be aligning our NZX ticker and legal company names with the new Vital brand. We will be announcing what these are and timeframes for the switch in the near future. Until we do, we will remain TeamTalk Limited, trading as Vital and CityLink Limited, trading as Vital,” the statement says.
Chief executive Andrew Miller said that “following a period of significant transformation and reinvestment into our infrastructure, including developing new services to bring to the market, we felt it was time to reflect on who we are and whether our brand was consistent with our vision.
“We wanted a name and brand that reflects our purpose. We wanted a name that was Simple, Strong and Heroic” – the capitals are TeamTalk’s.
“By choosing Vital we believe this represents our vision of wanting to keep New Zealand in touch when it matters most. Our desire is to deliver New Zealand’s critical communications backbone with Vitality,” Miller says.
“Critical communications aren’t just about emergencies, they are about the moments when a message is vital to a business, an event or the smooth running of a city.”
TeamTalk chair Roger Sowry says that “the board is excited by our new company name which comes at the same time as we rollout new services which will enable Vital to grow.”
There is already an entity using Vital in its name listed on NZX – Vital Healthcare Property Trust, an entity best known of late for the rapaciousness of its manager in collecting fees.
In February, TeamTalk reported a 10.8 percent fall in first-half net profit to $1.9 million.
TeamTalk shares are down about 5 percent from a year ago at 86 cents but have recovered from their low at 69 cents in December.
