Strong revenue growth at Altron enables first dividend since 2016

·25 Oct 2018

Technology group Altron on Thursday reported a 44% rise in revenue from continuing operations for the six months ended August 2018, to R9.8 billion.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased by 16% to R686 million on a normalised basis.

Profit for the period from continuing operations increased to R269 million, from R170 million.

Normalised headline earnings increased by 26% from R210 million to R264 million while normalised headline earnings per share grew by 25% to 71 cents against the prior period of 57 cents, it said.

The group declared an interim gross cash dividend of 28 cents per share – the first dividend paid to shareholders since the financial year-ended February 2016.

“During the past financial half year Altron delivered substantially on executing its One Altron strategy anchored in four strategic pillars, namely improve revenue growth, improve profitability, transform the customer experience and employee excellence,” Altron said.

The Altron group said it has made considerable progress in expanding its operations in various jurisdictions, successfully integrating three acquisitions. 57% of the group’s revenue is generated offshore, with Altron being the number one Microsoft licensing partner in the UK.

It completed the acquisition of the iS Partners group, including its primary subsidiaries Karabina Solutions and Zetta Business Solutions. “IS Partners group adds to Altron’s existing Microsoft business offerings and will be integrated into the Group in building a cloud and data analytics business of scale,” it said.

Looking ahead, Altron said it remains well-positioned for continued growth and execution of its One Altron strategy of offering end-to-end solutions to its extensive customer base. “We continue to focus on organic growth, supplemented by selective acquisitions,” it said.

In particular, it said it will: