Square One Solutions' net attributable profit rose from R0.1 million to R1.34 million in the year to 31 December, despite a 47.5% decline in turnover.
Turnover fell to R91.42 million from R174.2 million a year before. CEO Trevor James says the year-earlier figure was boosted by a one-off biometric authentication deal.
In addition, the strengthening of the rand, which resulted in adverse selling prices, had an effect on the latest turnover numbers. James says this was particularly evident in the channel operations, which make up a significant portion of the business.
Pre-tax profit rose from R1.76 million to R2.28 million while earnings per share soared from 0.5c to 6.1c and headline earnings per share fell to 7.8c from 37.8c.
James says the directors view the increase in net profit "as a resilient performance during a challenging year of business".
"Surviving companies from the IT sector's stock market collapse a few years ago have proved that they have the strength, flexibility and skill to ride out the storm, and 2004 should see them reap the rewards of their persistence in overcoming the adverse trading conditions."
He says the group will continue to restructure the back- and front-office operations to support its push into new markets.
"We will continue to reshape the organisation and will aggressively rejuvenate our products and services in order to diversify our sources of revenue and attract new customers."
Related stories:
Square One buys tech firm
Share
