Business Connexion Holdings (BCX), formerly Comparex, has issued its first year-end results since restructuring.
The group has yet to show the benefits of the merger between Comparex Holdings and Business Connexion Investments.
Earnings per share for the year to May rose from 42c to 47.5c, while headline earnings per share slipped from 44c to 34.2c.
"The board of BCX believes the benefits of the group`s ability to deliver high-quality services and innovative solutions, together with its black empowered status, have not yet been fully reflected in the results of BCX," says CEO Peter Watt.
He says the restructuring means the results are not comparable with those of Comparex for the previous year.
This is because interest earned on surplus cash before it was distributed to shareholders, as well as results of Mosaic, Perago and Nanoteq for the 11 months before their acquisition by BCX, formed part of the results of Comparex, not BCX, he says.
However, the merger, as well as expansion into Africa, helped BCX achieve a 4.1% increase in revenue, from R2.7 billion to R2.8 billion.
"The group`s strategy of growth into Africa has been successful with revenue growth of 107% during the period," Watt says. "This was largely due to contracts secured in Ethiopia for the supply and installation of equipment. The revenue gained in Africa mitigated declining revenue in the depressed South African market."
He says revenue in the local market was affected by the strengthening of the rand against the dollar, since imported products were landed, and reduced prices, with the benefit passed on to clients.
The general sentiment in the sector indicates that a turnaround is on the horizon, he adds, and BCX is well positioned to take advantage of an upturn.
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