Datatec CEO Jens Montanana has increased his stake in the company to R2.5 billion through incremental share purchases, underscoring his confidence in the ICT distribution group.
Before his latest share purchase yesterday, Montanana was already Datatec’s largest shareholder, surpassing the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which is Africa’s biggest investment manager, with more than R3 trillion in assets under management.
Irnest Kaplan, independent technology analyst, says Montanana “is an extremely experienced operator in this area. He knows the space well, the regions and the global vendors. He has a good feeling for the direction of the market.”
ITWeb’s calculations, based on Datatec’s latest announcements to shareholders, show that Montanana’s stake is currently 18.33% of the company. As at the end of February, the PIC held 16.74% of the entity. A review of Stock Exchange News Service filings shows no indication that the PIC has increased its stake.
Last year, the PIC was Datatec’s single largest shareholder.
Datatec’s results for the year to February 2025 indicate that revenue fell 8.8%, which the company said was because more of its software and services were being recorded over time rather than all at once.
Gross profit rose 5.6% during the year, largely due to changes in revenue mix, which boosted profitability at Westcon International and Logicalis International. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation climbed 28.2%. This figure provides a standardised view of a company's core operational profitability.
Kaplan notes that, as a distributor, Datatec plays an important role in the local markets. It knows the local resellers and provides an important function in the country for the global vendors, he comments. It also has a good mix of offerings, always shifting toward software, which usually delivers higher margins.
Towards the end of May, Montanana said he is “pleased to report a very strong operating and financial performance across all regions and metrics for the group”.
Datatec has also kept up with the latest trends and shifts to cloud and cyber security, says Kaplan. “I have no doubt it will continue to perform in the years ahead.”
This echoes Montanana’s full-year results comment: “Increasing IT complexity driven by AI [artificial intelligence] and the significant rise in interconnected digital communities is driving infrastructure demand in areas like networking and cyber security, where we have deep domain knowledge and many years of experience.”
Montanana, whose pay package is tied to performance, is set to earn $8.2 million this year. According to the company’s results booklet, this includes base salary, pension, medical and other benefits, as well as short- and long-term incentives. At this morning’s exchange rate of R17.64, this is worth about R144.7 million.
Datatec, which was founded in 1986, provides solutions and services to more than 50 countries, in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
Through Logicalis and Westcon International, it provides IT integration, managed services and technology distribution through its divisions, with a focus on areas such as networking, cyber security and cloud infrastructure.
In response to ITWeb’s query, Datatec’s investor relations team noted that Montanana’s latest purchase was small. “Jens [Montanana] has always been a big shareholder, thus there has been no significant change due to this,” they said.
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