Jasco eyes bigger play in SADC region
Jasco Electronics Holdings is set to boost its presence in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), starting with a dedicated presence in Brazzaville, Congo.
On Wednesday (19 September), Jasco Electronics reported a rise in diluted headline earnings per share to 16.8 cents for the year ended June 2012, from 14.0 cents a year ago (2011).
Revenue was 28.1% higher, at R990 million‚ while operating profit before interest and tax grew 8.4%, to R31.2 million‚ mainly due to the growth in turnover. Profit for the year was up 47.9% to R20.0 million.
A final dividend of three cents per share was declared.
Jasco CEO, Pete da Silva noted that, while group already operated in the SADC region, it has been through “project businesses”. He said that Jasco would aim to create a “Monday to Monday” presence, starting in the Congo and then moving further east into Kenya – a region he described as potentially “stealing” South Africa’s IT lunch.
Member states of SADC are Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Within South Africa’s borders, da Silva said that Jasco has invested in operations in Port Elizabeth and East London in the year under review, as the group was previously not covered in the Eastern Cape.
“We have achieved what we set out to do in the first year of our three-year strategy implementation process,” he said.
“The benefits of operating as an integrated group, with clear verticals focused on targeted customer segments, have already started to kick in. The group’s sales have improved through a focused performance and delivery culture and the start of cross-selling initiatives.”
“For example, we have already seen R25 million in new orders from four businesses working together during the year. We have also seen our aannuity base revenue increase from R0,4 million to R2.1 million per month,” da Silva continued.
Regarding future acquisitions, da Silva noted that, as a small cap, Jasco did not have the balance sheet to “go out there and hunt the big elephants”. However, he said that the group would continue to look at “bolt-on acquisitions and organic growth” as it heads into the second period of a three year plan.
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