Retail solutions company UCS doubled bottom line profit during the first six months of the year, but says this was off a low base.
The company has spent about 18 months tidying up its structure and disposing of non-core items. It is now focused on growing its international software operations and adding more layers to its existing retail footprint in SA.
During the second half of last year, UCS sold DiverseIT, the enterprise solutions division of UCS Solutions and TSS Managed Services. Revenue from continuing operations was up 9.4%, to R644 million, in the six months to March, while profit from operations grew 14.8%, to R92.2 million.
Headline earnings per share from continuing operations - a key indicator of the company's performance - was 97% higher to 7.1c. Attributable profit was up 7 181%, to R20.3 million.
CEO John Bright says the company “experienced a continuation of the same challenging market and trading conditions as in our previous year”. However, the group has since been streamlined and the second half is expected to be stronger than the first.
Deputy CEO Dean Sparrow says these results are off a low base, but it has outlined two key growth areas and aims to succeed in the international software market.
Go global
UCS is now streamlining its international software operations, and the fruits of this exercise should start flowing in as the global economy starts to recover, says Sparrow. “There is a lot of work to happen in the second half of the year.”
In SA, which accounts for 90% of its revenue, the company wants to aid retailers in adding more services to their offerings, such as bus coupons, says Sparrow. The company has about 100 000 point-of-sale devices in 15 000 stores around the country as well as 35 000 payment devices.
Sparrow explains that retailers will only need to add an additional level of technology to their existing systems in order to sell additional items through these devices.
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