Altron Group has hiked its final dividend for the 2024 financial year by 74% to 33c/share after reporting strong financial results, including a 36% improvement in headline earnings per share from continuing operations.
“Altron’s successful delivery of profit improvement strategies in Netstar and Altron Systems Integration, together with the adoption of effective target operating models across the group, led to a 46% increase in net profit after tax and a 46% increase in earnings per share from continuing operations,” it said on Monday.
Continuing operations exclude Altron Documents Solutions, Altron Nexus and Altron Rest of Africa.
“Due to the strong results and improved cash generation, the dividend payout ratio was raised earlier this financial year to a minimum of 50% of headline earnings from continuing operations, leading to a 74% increase in the final dividend to 33c/share.”
“Increased cash generation supported by a strong balance sheet allowed us to increase our final dividend per share by 74%,” said group CEO Werner Kapp.
Revenue from continuing operations rose by 8%. Including discontinued operations held for sale, Heps fell from 29c to 25c, while the loss per share was 43c, from a loss of 1c previously.
Operational highlights
- Annuity revenue (excluding the ATM business) increased by 9% and now comprises 61% of total revenue;
- Netstar grew subscribers by 27% to over 1.7 million subscribers, with 2.3 million connected devices. “This growth reflects industry-leading rates and a notable market share gain, with enterprise customers increasing 33% and consumer customers increasing 14%,” Altron said. Netstar revenue was R2.1-billion, up 12%, while Ebitda – a measure of operating profit – rose by 27% to R797-million;
- Altron Fintech increased Ebitda by 22% to R330-million;
- A profit improvement strategy in Altron Systems Integration delivered Ebitda of R93-million, from R5 million previously; and
- Cash generated from operations grew 25% to R1.6-billion while net debt was reduced by 44% to R313-million.
Kapp said that by 2026, Altron is targeting an operating profit margin of 19% for its platforms segment and 7% for IT services. “We are targeting operating profit of R1.1-billion from continuing operations,” he said. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media