Datacentrix earnings inch down

Johannesburg - IT business Datacentrix Holdings [JSE:DCT] on Tuesday announced diluted headline earnings per ordinary share of 26.2 cents for the six months ended August 2011, from 27.5c previously.

It noted diluted basic earnings per ordinary share of 26.1c, from 27.5c in 2010.

Revenue climbed to R912.65m, from R836.03m, but operating profit dropped to R69.63m, from R75.38m before.

An interim dividend per share of 13.4c was declared, from 13.9c in 2010.

Datacentrix designs, builds, implements, manages and maintains computer systems, networks and information environments.

Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation decreased by 8% to R81m, while the group's net asset value increased by 9% to 234c.

Cash generated from operations of R47m resulted in cash on hand of R330m, Datacentrix said.

The group highlighted good organic revenue growth of 9%, "a creditable performance in light of the anticipated revenue drop-off following the once-off Fifa World Cup event last year".

"Earnings declined from R54.5m to R52.2m for the period, due to a decline in operating margin from 9% to 8%.

The margin decline was a consequence of increased margin pressure on transactional business and a greater investment in key technical competencies. However margins increased on a six-month sequential basis," Datacentrix said.

Looking ahead, the group said its strategy would be to continue to drive the business up the value chain, delivering tangible strategic business value to its clients. "Wins in the Managed Services and Solutions divisions have substantially strengthened the organisation's market positioning. The group has expanded its offering organically to incorporate Datacentre (including Cloud deployment), Microsoft, Storage (software), BI, Security, MPS, Outsourcing expertise and the deployment of SOC.

"Datacentrix' growth has been organic; however the group is exploring acquisitions to accelerate growth in identified areas. Acquisitions will principally be done to enter into new market segments and to create critical mass in existing competencies," it said.