Dual-listed Lesaka has turned a net profit for the first time since the fintech firm was created out of the former Net 1 UEPS Technologies in 2022.
It has completed a brand refresh that forms part of a broader strategy to simplify and integrate the business under a ‘One Lesaka’ single identity.
In a statement accompanying its June 2026 results, which show a group-level net profit of $2.8 million (R47.3 million) compared with a loss of $91 million (R1.63 billion) a year ago, Lesaka executive chairman Ali Mazanderani says: “I am delighted that Lesaka… achieved full-year net profitability for the first time since Lesaka was created in 2022.”
Lesaka’s results used an average exchange rate of R16.91 for the 2026 year, against R17.90 in 2025. For context, the current exchange rate is R16.03, with the local currency having recently broken through the psychological barrier of R16 to the greenback, before moving higher as investors shifted focus away from riskier assets.
Net 1 UEPS Technologies changed its name to Lesaka Technologies in May 2022 as part of a broader reset of the business under then newly-appointed CEO Chris Meyer, following years of controversy over its social grants business, including unlawfully using its beneficiary database to sell financial products.
In December, Lesaka Southern Africa CEO Lincoln Mali told ITWeb TV that the company was “in trouble” when he joined in 2021. “It was burning more than R500 million a year, we were lossmaking, and we had a challenged reputation,” he said.
Mazanderani adds that the company delivered on all of its 2026 financial year guidance metrics and exceeded the top end of its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) guidance range.
Higher and higher
In February 2026, when reporting interim figures, the Nasdaq- and JSE-listed company said adjusted EPS would be at least R4.60. However, it raised its guidance when it reported figures for the third quarter, saying that adjusted EPS would be between R5.50 and R6.00.
This metric came in at R6.51 for the full year, while revenue gained 1.7% to R12.2 billion. In dollars, revenue moved from $659.7 million in 2025, to $721.5 million, with adjusted EPS of $0.39 this year from $0.12 in 2025.
Net revenue increased 20% to R6.33 billion, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation gained 41% to R1.28 billion.
However, performance was uneven across business units. Merchant revenue fell 10% to R8.61 billion, while consumer revenue grew 38% to R2.4 billion and enterprise revenue jumped 62% to R1.26 billion.
Merchant, Mali says, “was a year of building and integration,” adding that the segment’s task for the 2027 financial year “is to convert that volume into value”.
Mali says the consumer unit had “another record year… with robust customer acquisition and cross-sell results driving profitability,” while “enterprise has become a genuine contributor, delivering on its potential with strong revenue and profitability growth”.
“We also spent last year bringing more than 10 operating brands together under one name,” Mali notes.
Simplified unity
From the start of last month, Lesaka began bringing in customer-facing brands spanning merchant payments, point-of-sale technology, cash management, consumer financial services and prepaid electricity, including Kazang, EasyPay, EasyPay Everywhere, Adumo, GAAP, Connect and Recharger, under the Lesaka name.
The new corporate brand was launched internally in November 2025, with the rollout expected to continue through the end of calendar 2026.
Lesaka has described it as part of a broader simplification strategy, intended to create one identity for customers and employees, and consolidate marketing spend.
“This was more than a brand refresh; it is a necessary step in a set of strategic initiatives designed to create a ‘One Lesaka’ identity for our customers and our employees. The brand is underpinned by a set of values that encapsulates what Lesaka stands for and the behaviours expected of all Lesaka employees,” it said in a December 2025 Nasdaq filing.
Its new positioning is: “Where You Are, We Are”. Its new logo uses a footprint intended to represent its physical presence in the communities and businesses it serves.
Costly move
However, the company paid $3 million (R50.75 million at its average exchange rate) to refresh its brand in the 2026 year, while exiting the ATM business cost it $1.6 million (R27.1 million).
Lesaka has also been shedding non-core assets, including its interests in Carbon, Finbond and, most recently, Indian fintech firm MobiKwik. The MobiKwik stake was sold for about R290 million in June 2025.
The 2026 year was “a milestone year for Lesaka,” says Mazanderani, adding that the company enters 2027 “with real momentum and a platform built for strong, sustainable growth”.
Lesaka expects net revenue of between R7 billion and R7.7 billion, adjusted EBITDA of R1.45 billion to R1.6 billion, and adjusted EPS of R7.50 to R8.50. Mazanderani also says it is targeting adjusted EPS compound annual growth of more than 40% over the next three years.
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