JSE-listed Jasco Electronics` results for the six months to 31 August show the effect of a strong rand and delays in the take-up of orders in its telecommunications division.
<B>Salient figures</B>
Jasco Electronics results for the six months to 31 August 2003.
Figures for the year-earlier period in parentheses:
Revenue: R126.64m (R141.62m)
Operating profit: -R0.6m (R8.61m)
Net profit before tax: -R3.77m (R9.65m)
Net attributable profit: -R4.8m (R9.65m)
EPS: -6.9c (19.8c)
HEPS: -2.3c (17.6c)
NAV per share: 111.4c (81.4c)
NTAV per share: 52.6c (54.2c)
Current assets: R84.28m (R124.27m)
Cash on hand: R2.36m (R46.84m)
Current liabilities: R77.13m (R110.41m)
Cash generated from operations: R14.46m (R7.47m)
Cash flow from operating activities: R7.37m (R5.42m)
The group incurred a net attributable loss of R4.8 million for the period, against a profit of R9.65 million for the same period last year. Revenue slipped by 10.6% to R126.64 million and an operating loss of R602 000 compares with a previous profit of R8.61 million.
CEO Stuart Robertson says Jasco derived more than 40% of its revenue from exports during the interim period. As a result, rand strength had a negative effect on turnover and the operating margin. A delay in take-up orders from "certain local customers" of the telecoms division exacerbated this.
Gearing rose from 6.2% to 34.7% as a result of the assumed net liability of Khululeka Telecommunications, which was acquired with effect from 1 March.
Revenue from the telecoms division fell by 18.1% to R72.8 million, while the manufacturing division`s revenue rose by 2.2% to R28.2 million. The security business`s revenue rose from R8.4 million to R18.9 million.
"Although the rand remains strong, orders from local and African telecommunications projects are starting to pick up and all divisions are likely to remain profitable at operational level," Robertson says. "In addition, a number of measures to improve efficiencies in the manufacturing of export products are being implemented."
Robertson says the potential benefits of a three-year restructuring operation and a strong empowerment profile, together with the fact that the group`s second half is traditionally better than the first, mean that management expects, bar unforeseen circumstances, that Jasco will end the year profitably.
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