Integrated Health Technologies, soon to be renamed Integrated Technology Holdings, is confident of delivering on its promise of a 30% return this year.
MD Siegfried Brits says the company, which recently reported strong interim results for the six months to 30 June, is shifting its focus to data warehousing and knowledge management.
"We believe knowledge management is the future of IT," he says. Brits adds that at present, the health sector contributes 50% to the company`s earnings. "The rest of the focus is on knowledge management and data warehousing."
Data warehousing is now the core business, but Brits says the company needs to build around that business. "We are in the process of identifying companies to do that," he notes. Africa Group is committed to taking up 16 million shares at 90c each for cash in January next year, which iHTech says will put it in an "enviable" position to exploit opportunities and fund ongoing ventures.
Brits says the company, which will move from the venture capital sector to the main IT sector on 23 August, will focus on business intelligence for the rest of the year. "We are still in an integration process," he says.
The share price, which is trading at around 56c, has fallen from its highest close of 255c on 21 April last year, three months after listing on the JSE.
Analysts say the 30% growth target is attainable, but one said the outcome of iHTech`s attempts to reverse the 1998 acquisition of network integration subsidiary Red Systems might have an effect on the company.
The share price dipped in July after the company said it would seek to cancel the R15 million acquisition of Red Systems, which it said failed to meet contractual guarantees.
Seeking to reassure shareholders, MD Dirk Odendaal said the outcome of arbitration would not affect the group`s forecast earnings and the loss of Red Systems would not hinder iHTech`s growth. At the time of listing, the company was a loss-maker, earning turnover of R1.7 million for the 1997 financial year. For the half-year to June 1999, it reported attributable income of R3.3 million and turnover of R19 million. Headline share earnings of 4.8c compared with 1.61c for the year-earlier period.
The most positive assessment of the company was made in May when PSG said it expected the company to increase headline earnings per share by 46% to 13.6c for the current financial year.
"Investors do, however, have to realise that we base this forecast purely on organic growth, and [it] therefore excludes the potential benefit of possible corporate action," said PSG.
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