JSE-listed EOH has identified several countries in East and West Africa that it hopes will account for around 30% of its revenue within five years.
While the outsourcing company has yet to get off the ground seriously in Africa, CEO Asher Bohbot says "it will happen". The process, he notes, will take months rather than years.
EOH's plan is to set up bases with local partners in a bid to offer its full suite of offerings, says Bohbot. The group is looking at Kenya, Tanzania, Nairobi, Nigeria and Ghana.
However, Bohbot says the group will not rush into the continent, although it is prepared to take some risks. "It's not our style to gamble the house on it."
EOH, which has about 6% of the local market, yesterday published its results for the six months to January and said revenue gained 45.5%, to R2.4 billion. Net profit was 53.5% higher, at R163.5 million.
The group ended the period with cash of R532.5 million, which Bohbot says gives EOH the freedom to move quickly to capitalise on opportunities. He adds that a healthy cash balance will aid it in raising money if it needs to, and also gives companies and the state comfort that it will be around if awarded a big deal.
EOH sees the public sector, which contributes about a quarter of revenue, as a growth driver. Some 60% of its income came from organic growth, with acquisitions done in the first half adding R184 million.
Bohbot says EOH is constantly on the lookout for acquisitions. In the first half, it made several acquisitions totalling R224.6 million (less than 5% of EOH's market capitalisation of almost R5 billion), of which R124.9 million was due in cash with the balance paid in shares.
Services contributed the bulk of its revenue, at 69%, with infrastructure - a declining contributor - at 16% and software at 15%. It said all areas of its business produced growth. The local ICT market is growing at around 7% a year, says Bohbot.
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