Best performing tech shares of 2012

Tech companies have had a busy year on the JSE – and the South African tech sector has weathered the economic storms of 2012. SA tech companies have had a mixed performance on the JSE, but there have been some clear winners whose stocks have blossomed on the local exchange.

These are the tech companies who mananged to perform well in 2012, increasing their stock value on the JSE.

All share prices were sourced from Bloomberg, representing stock prices at close of 3 January 2012, and 10 December 2012

Ellies

Ellies had a strong year on the JSE, boosting it’s stock value over 205% over the course of the year.

Ellies is involved in diversified sectors‚ including consumer goods‚ renewable energy‚ and power and telecommunications infrastructure serving the local and African markets.

The group’s strong performance was based off its infrastructure division, which delivered impressive full-year earnings. Notably, Megatron, which was bought by Ellies in December 2007, grew revenue by 158%.

In August, the company also broadened its international exposure by launching an American Depository Receipt (ADR) programme, which enabled its shares to trade on US stock exchanges.

Foneworx

FoneWorx’s subsidiaries, BizWorx and MediaWorx, all added to the company’s boost on the JSE – growing the company’s share value by over 110%.

Key drivers affecting its September results reporting were due to the positive adoption of the unstructured supplementary services data (USSD) services and certainty around the Consumer Protection Act, the group said.

The signing of a number of blue chip advertising agencies with their solid brands and increased activity in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods market, also impacted results according to the group.

Pinnacle

A big year for cloud computing meant a big year for Pinnacle Technology Holdings, where a strong performance, coupled with big strategies moving ahead, led to a 56% boost to the company’s share value in 2012.

In the group’s last financial reporting, it pegged cloud computing, as well as subsequent data and infrastructure requirements, as the key driver that boosted the company in 2012.

The company also attributed its strong performance to improvements in margins in hardware distribution and the increase in mix of higher margin value-add services and financing solutions.

Pinnacle is also planning to enhance its product offering in the physical security and fire prevention technologies and have pinned a lot on Windows 8 reinvigorating the IT market.

Naspers

Media giant, Naspers, had an exceptional year in trade on the JSE, adding over R190 – or close to 53% – to its stock value over the course of 2012.

Driving the company’s strong performance was the payout of smart investing – particularly in the Internet space, with a strong focus on e-commerce.

The group, with internet companies including Russia’s Mail.Ru Group, kalahari.com and China’s Tencent in its portfolio, reported an operating profit of R2.5 billion, from R1.95 billion in 2011.

The company also has big investments in Pay-TV and news media, which add to its diversified portfolio.

Naspers is currently worjking on its future strategies – developing digital terrestrial television (DTT) services in markets across Africa, while it also plans on scaling its e-commerce operations in emerging markets.

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