London- and Johannesburg-listed Datatec expects its results for the second half of the year to be an improvement on the previous year, as profitability continues to pick up.
Datatec this morning released its interim management statement for the four months to December and said improvements in trading and profitability have continued. As a result, the group's results for the second six months to February are expected to be a year-on-year and half-on-half improvement.
In October, Datatec reported its first-half results and said revenue grew 19%, to $2.13 billion, while operating profit moved from $28.7 million to $40 million. Net profit leapt from $8.7 million to $17 million.
CEO Jens Montanana says the “improvement in trading conditions reported at our interim results in October last year has continued, with a notable return to confidence across all our major markets, particularly the US”.
The company attributes the gains to an improvement in the global economy and good signs of recovery in its largest market, the US. Asia, South America and the Middle East are still Datatec's strongest performing markets, and trading conditions in Europe are also improving.
Montanana adds: “It appears that we are finally returning to a growth environment that we can believe in gross margins firming and profit margins expanding as the group continues to benefit from increased operational leverage and geographical reach.”
Datatec has maintained its guidance of full-year revenue for the year to February, expecting turnover to come in at between $4.1 billion and $4.4 billion, and profit after tax of about $58 million.
The group expects to release its preliminary results for the year to February on 11 May.
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