Commenting on the results, the CEO of Altech, Craig Venter, said he was pleased with the groups on-going consistent performance of creating shareholder value while, at the same time, having the ability to strategically position itself for future growth.

Altech reported headline earnings per share of 158 cents for the half-year, an increase of 10% over the comparable period last year.

Revenue and operational income increased by 35% and 57% to R2,653bn and R249m respectively.

With continuous focus being placed on strong asset management, Altechs balance sheet remains strong, with cash and cash equivalents of R722m, after payments were made for the NamITech acquisition, R543m, and an Altech share buy-back of R247m, Venter added.

Reviewing Altechs corporate finance activities for the period, Venter said that following the acquisition of NamITech, Altech had concluded two black economic empowerment transactions of some significance.

NamITech Holdings disposed of 28% of its equity to Pamodzi Investments Holdings, while Altech Data, the IT division within Altech, disposed of 25,01% of its equity, also to Pamodzi. I now consider that the groups underlying operations are well positioned from an empowerment perspective, and that significant progress has been made in complying with the impending ICT Charter, he continued.

Concerning the Altech/Econet Wireless Group joint venture, Venter said the only outstanding conditions precedent related to South African Reserve Bank approval, as well as Cabinet approval in Papua New Guinea for the acquisition of the majority stake in Telikom Papua New Guinea.

He said both those processes were at an advanced stage, and a positive outcome was expected shortly.

Highlighting Altechs operations, Venter said that within the telecommunications division, Autopage Cellular had performed well ahead of expectations, and had increased its net subscriber base by more than 30 000.

He said the companys subscriber base now exceeded 615 000.

Looking ahead, Venter said Autopage Cellular would continue to offer creative services for its communications users.

An increasingly deregulated telecommunications market has opened voice-over-Internet-protocol (VOIP) as well as other concessions all of which have created exciting opportunities for the Altech group, and, in particular, Autopage Cellular, Venter continued.
 
He said Alcom Matomo had experienced a good half-year, with positive activity generated by the award of the R500m SAPS Gauteng Digital Trunked Radio Network.

During the review period a tender had been submitted to the Free State local government for a similar digital communications system. Adjudication of the tender was expected soon.

Within Altechs Multi-Media and Electronics Division, UEC Technologies had posted an acceptable performance for the reporting period, despite the further strengthening of the Rand.

NamITech, a recent acquisition within Altechs IT division, exceeded expectations for its first reporting period within the group.

Venter said he was extremely satisfied in the manner in which NamITech had been integrated into Altech and that all its divisions were performing ahead of expectations.

NamITech has been successful in securing pilot Europay/MasterCard/Visa (EMV) roll-outs with all major South African banks, except one. This clearly bodes well for the future of NamITechs Financial Services Division, he said.

I can also announce that NamITech is in the process of establishing an initial pre-paid voucher facility in Nigeria, after being awarded a licence to manufacture vouchers in that country by the Nigerian Communications Commission, said Venter. The decision to establish a Nigerian facility is not based on a voucher production focus only, but will be built-out as a hub to cover the full NamITech product portfolio for West Africa. This will then give full coverage for South Africa, West Africa and East Africa, as envisaged by the NamITech Pan African strategy.

Concerning Altechs outlook, Venter said that, with the groups recent acquisitions, orders on hand and an increasing flow of annuity income, he remained confident that real growth would be achieved for the second half of the financial year.