zoomlik, we need to keep in mind that FTE is really in 3 very different businesses, 2 of which have very different gross margins than the other. The Benchmark business, being essentially a general contractor, is a low margin business -- I believe its margins are around 15%. The CrossLayer and the rest of FTE is a higher margin business -- something in the 20's I believe. So the margin they are reporting is a conglomeration of these very different businesses.
In the quarterly reports since they acquired Benchmark they have not provided any segment reporting, taking the position that all of their businesses are in a single "segment" I guess. Maybe in connection with their year-end audit we may see some segment reporting in the 10K.
Given how low the Benchmark margins are, one may be wondering, why did they acquire Benchmark anyway? The answer is provided in my next post.
