Johannesburg - Business Connexion Group [JSE:BCX] has reported
diluted headline earnings per share of 38.8 cents for the year ended August
2012 from 17.2 cents a year ago. Normalised diluted HEPS rose to 54.3 cents
from 44.0 cents‚ it said.
Revenue grew by 35.1% to R5.83bn‚ bolstered by the
acquisitions of the UCS assets and Canoa Group during the previous financial
year and good growth from other divisions.
Gross profit margins increased to 31.5% from 30.9%‚
primarily as a result of higher margin business of the acquired assets but also
from improvements across other divisions.
Operating profit rose to R275m from R157.7m.
The group increased its dividend by 42.9% to 20 cents
compared with 14 cents a year ago.
The group said it has had an excellent year in difficult
economic trading conditions. The strong growth in key financial metrics is a
direct result of the group's seven-year growth strategy to 2016‚ which focuses
on its cloud services offerings‚ vertical sector solutions‚ application
development and African expansion‚ it said.
The strategic acquisitions over the past two years have been
successfully integrated and made significant contributions to the group's
results.
More than ever‚ African expansion presents a significant
opportunity for BCX and accessing these markets remains a key strategic focus‚
it said.
“The continued progress in Africa is pleasing with the
group's operations across the continent maturing. This has translated into an
improved‚ and less volatile‚ financial performance with the group taking market
leading positions in some key‚ high growth African economies‚” it added.
Looking ahead‚ the group said it is benefiting from being a larger and more diversified enterprise with an expanded customer base. Cross selling opportunities and synergies should contribute positively to future results.
With its growing African footprint‚ broad client base‚ reputation and proven abilities‚ BCX is poised to meet the challenges posed by the rapid changes and consolidation in the ICT industry and take full advantage of its market position‚ it concluded.