A cryptic cautionary statement issued to shareholders on Friday sent JSE-listed technology group Gijima’s share price soaring more than 14%. But analysts are baffled about what Gijima is up to.

The share price climbed 9c, or 14,5%, on Friday, to trade at 71c; it had gained a further 1c by lunchtime on Monday. The statement says simply that Gijima is “continuously reviewing its business strategy to ensure that it maximises shareholder value”. It goes on to say it has entered into negotiations that could affect its share price.

Although the statement doesn’t say what the negotiations are about, investor’s sentiment was lifted by the announcement. More than 1m Gijima shares were traded on Friday. Normal daily volume is a fraction of that.

But Irnest Kaplan, MD of Kaplan Equity Analysts, says the cautionary statement could relate to almost anything. He says Gijima has indicated previously that there are holes in its service offering it would like to plug.

One of the holes mentioned by Gijima CEO Jonas Bogoshi is the company’s need to partner with a telecommunications provider.

Frost & Sullivan analyst Protea Hirschel says Gijima has already entered into partnerships with Dark Fibre Africa and Broadband Infraco, though she says there is room for discussions in the data centre space.

Gijima’s share price collapsed last month when it announced it had reached a settlement with a key customer, the department of home affairs, over a giant project to modernise the department’s computer systems.

The settlement splashed Gijima’s income statement for the six months to Decemeber 2010 with red ink. — Candice Jones, TechCentral