JSE-listed Allied Electronics Corporation Limited (Altron) says its Bytes Technology Group was the largest contributor to headline earnings for the year to February.
This morning, the company published its annual results and said revenue gained 3%, to R23.6 billion, but earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped 7%, to R1.9 billion. Total comprehensive income for the year was R16 million, compared with R394 million in 2011.
CEO Robert Venter says: “Bytes reported excellent results, with Altech and Powertech experiencing more challenging times as a result of underperformance of a number of their key operations.”
Venter says special attention will be paid to getting the currently underperforming businesses back on track in the year ahead.
Bytes was the group's largest headline earnings contributor, with EBITDA increasing 11%, to R527 million, despite flat revenue of R6.1 billion, mainly because of the non-recurrence of the National Health Services contract in the UK.
Tough times
The Powertech businesses, with the exception of the cables group, performed well. Overall, revenue increased 6%, to R7.5 billion, while EBITDA dropped 7%, to R500 million.
Its cables unit was negatively affected by a poor performance at Aberdare International, caused by very difficult economic conditions in Iberia, while the local cable business also fell short of expectations, although it recovered in the second half.
Venter says the company will focus on growing revenue in the year ahead while leveraging its low cost base. “This will be done by focusing on both organic growth and further acquisitions while keeping our focus on costs and improving working capital,” he says.
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