EOH Holdings said on Wednesday that its six-monthly revenue, for the period ended 31 January 2021, fell by 29% year on year, mostly due to the disposal of businesses, and said legacy public-sector contract problems are now “under control”.

Though still loss-making, EOH appears to be on the path to profitability, reporting an 83% improvement in its headline loss per share to 60c, from a loss of R3.50 previously.

Revenue was R4.4-billion, from R6.2-billion in the prior six-month period, EOH said.

Gross profit margin was 27.6%, from 24.2%, while operationally margins improved, too: Total core normalised margin calculated using earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation — Ebitda is a measure of operational performance — was 8.3%, up from 7.8%.

The group reported operating profit of R59-million from a loss of R915-million in the prior period. Cash was “stable” at R440-million.

‘Smaller’

“Our business, while smaller from a revenue perspective due to the strategic disposal of non-core assets and the exit of underperforming businesses, is now more sustainable, delivering better quality of earnings,” said CEO Stephen van Coller in a statement to investors.

“We have seen a significant reduction in one-off costs and are confident that our legacy issues are now under control.”

Van Coller, who was previously a senior executive at MTN Group, has been leading a clean-up and restructuring at EOH, which had grown too aggressively through acquisitions and which had become embroiled in corrupt dealings involving public sector contracts. — © 2021 NewsCentral Media