Allied Electronics Corporation (Altron) increased its headline earnings per share by 10% from 63c to 69c in the six months to end-August.
CEO Robert Venter says an 18% increase in revenue from R5.06 billion to R5.96 billion was based on strong organic growth as well as the contribution from the recent acquisition of NamITech by subsidiary Altech.
Operating income rose by 35% from R329 million to R443 million, thanks to an improvement in the operating margin from 6.5% to 7.4% and the inclusion of the NamITech acquisition.
"Although conditions in the IT sector remain challenging, profitable growth areas exist," he says. "This is particularly applicable in the card-related business where the group is currently benefiting from opportunities in terms of the conversion to the Europay/MasterCard/Visa (EMV) standard."
Venter says the telecoms operations are well positioned to take advantages of the liberalisation of the telecoms market in SA, particularly in the sectors related to voice over Internet Protocol.
The group`s balance sheet remains healthy, with cash and cash equivalents of R1.41 billion, compared with R2 billion at the February year-end.
This is after the acquisition of NamITech and the R257 million Altech share buyback, which was partially offset by strong operating cash flows and cash proceeds from black economic empowerment equity deals, Venter says.
He adds that prospects are good and the group expects to increase earnings for the year to February 2005.
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