While new business helped sweeten turnover for Natal-based software house InfoWave, it decided to trim its profits in preparation for new acquisitions and capacity building, the company says in its interim results.
For the six months ended 31 August, InfoWave reported a rise in turnover to R17.683 million from R15.610 million. Profit from operations before interest dipped to R3.462 million from R3.579 million in 2004. Headline earnings per share grew 10% to 2.76c.
During the past six months the company increased its capacity to deliver on projects by 8%, says CEO Tiffany Dunsdon. This included increasing the staff complement to 72 from 59, investment in skills development and preparing the company to meet the black economic empowerment (BEE) requirements of the ICT charter and of the Department of Trade and Industry.
The company is also preparing an acquisition strategy and is actively looking at local companies to buy, says Dunsdon.
InfoWave`s major client is the SA Sugar Association and through that relationship has business coming from seven sub-Saharan countries including Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Swaziland.
"While we see the sugar industry as our core business, it is not the end of it. We need to expand our technical base and the geographic areas of business. We are considering new markets in the Philippines and Brazil," she says.
While InfoWave will remain primarily an Oracle shop, it will consider other proprietary and open source systems when appropriate, she says.
As part of InfoWave`s BEE strategy, black ownership equity increased from 22% to 25% at 31 August 2005, through share issues to employees in terms of the share scheme, a share buy-back and the BEE deal effected by corporate finance firm iCapital. Some 58% of the staff is black.
InfoWave also has a BEE associate company, Adapt-IT, which it says is making "pleasing progress".
In late morning trade InfoWave`s share price had sipped 1c to 55c.
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