Despite an increase in revenue, JSE-listed Digicore Holdings, a provider of fleet management technology, has dropped its earnings per share from 10.1c to 0.46c for the year to June.
Digicore reported earnings of R1 million for the year to June 2000, down from R20 million reported in June 1999.
Operating profit fell from R26.6 million to R3.8 million off an increased revenue of R97.3 million (R81.5 million).
This follows a mid-July profit warning to inform shareholders that the results for the year would be below par.
Nick Vlok, MD of Digicore, says the results were affected by both internal and external factors.
"Difficult trading conditions in our local as well as offshore markets impacted negatively on our profitability. Yet, we did secure the single largest order for fleet management equipment globally in the final quarter of the year."
The R150 million Debis deal signed in June was not reflected in this year`s results and Vlok says the impact of the deal will only be felt in the next reporting period.
Vlok also points to Digicore gearing up its capacity in order to supply outsourcing contracts reliably, and says there was a marked resulting rise in overheads for the period.
However, he remains confident that the company will be able to meet the challenges of the next financial year and expects a 30% year-on-year growth with a projected turnover of R300 million by June 2001.
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