ICT resourcing group Paracon Holdings has achieved yet another landmark in its ongoing transformation programme progressing to a Level 3 (AA) contributor, as rated by independent rating agency EmpowerDex.
Customers will now be able to claim 110% of their spend with the company towards their B-BBEE status. In addition, Paracon recently reached majority black ownership with black shareholding ramping up to 51%.
Paracon CEO Mark Jurgens says transformation is seen as a business imperative at Paracon and is a key focus of management. “This achievement reflects the success of our empowerment strategy, which has been ongoing for a number of years.” Jurgens emphasises that this further strengthens Paracon's market offering opening new paths to growth and thereby maximising shareholder returns.
Distinguished among industry peers, Paracon was ranked 6th in the 'South Africa's Best Empowered Listed ICT Companies' section of the recent 2010 Financial Mail/EmpowerDex survey.
Paracon's major BEE owner comprises WDB Investment Holding (WDB), a broad-based BEE company, that is 100% black female owned. It is wholly owned by the WDB Trust, which supports rural women across the country, and its profits are channelled through to this charitable Trust to develop social upliftment programmes.
In 2008, Paracon bought back 36.3 million of its own shares from WDB, which enabled WDB to settle its debt with the original transaction funder - the Industrial Development Corporation. By holding its remaining approximately 60 million shares in Paracon, unencumbered WDB gained direct access to Paracon's dividends for the first time in five years.
Commenting on the group's B-BBEE strategy, Jurgens says: “Incremental milestones may be achieved but cannot be considered sufficient or finite. Paracon does not view transformation as a scorecard process, but as a holistic strategy aimed at genuine empowerment that is sustainable over the long-term.”
Paracon's share closed yesterday at R1.60.
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