ERP.com Holdings is expecting an upturn in the market and is looking to make acquisitions.
CEO Peter Forsyth says the group has been seeing evidence of better prospects and expects a return to normal spending patterns in 2006.
"We`re saying normal spending patterns, not pre-Y2K patterns," he says.
The group has emerged from a difficult year to July that saw revenue grow only by 2% from R130.73 million to R133.06 million.
However, bottom line growth was still solid, with net attributable income rising by 27% from R18.68 million to R23.69 million and headline earnings growing by 24% from 11.5c a share to 14.2c a share.
"We realised at the start of the year that this was not going to be a growth period," Forsyth says. The group decided to focus on consolidating margins and on service delivery, which reflects in the bottom line, he says.
The group has grown its cash to R70.12 million and Forsyth believes it is now time to look at acquisitions as well as continue to grow organically.
A dividend of 4.3c a share has been declared, along with a special dividend of 3.7c a share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 8c.
The information security division performed well during the year, increasing the customer base to more than 12 000, with growth expected to continue in the current year. The division now contributes 50% of revenue, against 39% last year.
The enterprise applications business was most affected by the tough market, which saw rand strength delay many customers` spending. However, Forsyth expects an improvement in the current year.
Data and content management performed "steadily" during the year. This division contributes 17% of revenue, versus 16% last year.
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