Investment company Sekunjalo's previous 18 months of restructuring are bearing fruit, as it grew revenue and gross profit during the year.
Sekunjalo has stakes in several industries, such as fishing, IT and financial services. It is also the black economic empowerment partner to global telecommunications giant British Telecom (BT) in its South African operations. Sekunjalo has a 30% stake in BTSA.
In the year to August, the company grew revenue 9%, to R436.9 million, and headline earnings leapt from R7.6 million to R12.9 million. As a result, headline earnings per share, a key measure of performance, grew to 2.64c from 1.55c, and the company reversed its previous loss per share, from a loss of 12.05c to a gain of 1.67c.
Revenue from its ICT unit, Sekunjalo TSG, grew faster than overall group revenue, at 13%. It generated profit of R7.6 million, which was lower than last year's R16.9 million, due to the sale of Synergy last year and the cancellation of a contract.
Sekunjalo says a contract with the Gauteng Department of Health was cancelled by its consortium partner, Baoki Consortium, due to non-payment by the department. Discussions to resolve the impasse are ongoing, it notes.
In addition, the company says its partnership with BT “has been very successful in its first year”. The unit should exceed budget expectations and is positioned to grow “aggressively over the next few years”.
“Sekunjalo TSG performed well under significantly tougher trading conditions for all companies,” says the holding group.
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