Prism Holdings has simultaneously announced a R15.3 million black empowerment deal and warned that its interim headline earnings per share will be at least 30% lower than those of a year before.
The group has entered an agreement to sell 25.1% of subsidiary Prism TranSwitch Services (PTSS) to black-owned technology company Gijima Technologies for R15.35 million, subject to certain conditions precedent.
PTSS specialises in electronic funds transfer and bill payment processing services and switches more than 150 million transactions a year on behalf of major retailers and financial institutions. Gijima, founded by executive chairman Robert Gumede and chief operating officer Nhlanhla Mhlongo, focuses on the IT, telecommunications and smart card technology sectors.
Gumede, who will be one of two directors Gijima is appointing to the PTSS board, says the deal does not represent a passive investment. "Gijima is a focused and hands-on operational business and we seek to add real value to PTSS in terms of operational input, customer and business expansion."
Gijima has undertaken not to dispose of its shares in PTSS for three years from the effective date of the deal, unless to a majority black-owned empowerment company formally approved by Prism.
Prism has at the same time warned that its results for the six months to 31 December are expected to show at least a 30% decline in headline earnings per share.
It says this is a result of the continued strengthening of the rand against the US dollar, coupled with the increased number of shares in issue after the rights offer concluded in February.
Because the forecast earnings information has not been reviewed or reported on by the group`s auditors, it has advised its shareholders to exercise caution in trading in their shares until the interim results are published towards the end of January.
The Prism share was trading at 32c on the JSE this morning, down 17c or 34.69% from yesterday`s close.
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