Despite reporting lower revenue in the first half of the year, Gijima has substantially narrowed its loss from continuing operations and has improved its basic earnings per share.
The group this morning said revenue for the six months to December came in at R741.3 million, compared to the prior period's R911.2 million. However, a year ago it reported a net loss of R106.2 million from continuing operations, which has now been trimmed to R24.8 million.
Overall, its basic loss per share came in at 19.84c, compared with 222.31c for the six months to December 2012. The group says in a statement to shareholders that this shows its turnaround strategy is showing "traction".
Last September, the company said it had, yet again, embarked on a turnaround strategy, despite previous management wrapping up a restructuring that was meant to enable its vision 2025 and position the company for growth.
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Gijima says its results show it is "forging its way back on track". Chairman Robert Gumede said in September that 2013 was a "very difficult year" and required much soul-searching. He said this was probably the first time Gijima took a long, hard look in the mirror and sought to bring back the "glory days".
Ten years ago, the company's stock was changing hands at R40 and it is now worth a fraction of that, at 56c. The group said this morning it is exploring new markets, specifically in Africa and in state-owned entities, and this is also starting to aid the group.
Gijima wants 30% of its business to come from the public sector, a figure that is currently at 35%.
Over the past year, Gijima has signed deals worth R1.6 billion on the back of contract renewals, some of which include increased scope. "This is an important indication that the continued efforts to attract, and retain significant clients, even in the face of stiff opposition, demonstrate our capability and are a testament to our ability to provide service delivery excellence," it says.
However, Gijima continues to battle a "continued tough market" and customer delays in awarding contracts, which placed pressure on its top line, which dropped 19% year-on-year. The group has also been pulling costs out of the business, cutting back on R200 million of spending a year without "exceeding the industry norm in terms of staff turnover," it adds.
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