Altech eyes acquisitions

Johannesburg - South Africa's Allied Technologies (Altech) reported little change in full-year profit on Tuesday, but the IT and telecoms group said it was considering acquisitions to boost its business.

Companies in Africa's largest economy have struggled to boost profits as consumer demand remains weak and debt levels high following a recession that ended last year.

Altech, which designs and develops telecommunications equipment, said headline earnings per share were flat at 571c for the year to end-February.

Headline EPS are the main profit guage in South Africa and strip out certain one-off and non-trading items.

Adjusted headline EPS rose 2% to 605c, the company said. Revenue was little changed at R9.2bn.

The company said in a statement it would consider acquisitions as it eyes further growth.

Shares of Altech have fallen about 1% so far this year, underperforming a 4% increase in the JSE All-Share index.

The company's shares gained nearly 40% in 2009.

- Reuters