While the IT market is likely to remain challenged, niche growth opportunities will exist in specific segments, says Altron CFO Diane Radley.
Speaking at an asset management forum hosted by Sasfin Frankel Pollak Securities last night, Radley said while growth in the South African IT industry had generally slowed, opportunities still existed.
One growth segment was EMV compliance. EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) is a global standard covering smart credit and debit cards as well as the terminals that accept the cards.
Speaking on the subject "Positioning Altron for growth in an ever-changing ICT environment", Radley said Altron was poised to take advantage of the opportunities in this segment.
The IT market overall was ripe for further consolidation and restructuring and she predicted the use of outsourcing would increase.
Subsidiary Bytes Technology Group`s (BTG`s) acquisition of CS Holdings (CSH) would prove beneficial in this regard as BTG was now able to take on CSH`s expertise in education, training and outsourcing.
Radley said the traditional manufacturing businesses in the Powertech stable had been of great benefit to the group, as they were strongly cash-generative, providing Altron with the cash to take advantage of high-growth opportunities.
The group was also a firm believer in owning its intellectual property to ensure annuity revenue streams.
She welcomed the recent liberalisation in the country`s telecommunications policies, which she said would help the group achieve its objectives in that sector.
The group was also keen to forge alliances to take advantages of the opportunities that liberalisation would bring.
In Africa, the lack of fixed-line infrastructure would drive mobile growth, and Altron`s mobile phone interests are ready to take advantage.
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