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Altron suspends dividend amid ‘difficult conditions’

Johannesburg - Local technology group Altron [JSE:AEL] has decided not to declare a dividend for its financial year ended February 29 as difficult tradition conditions bite.

Over the last year, Altron has shut down non-performing businesses such as its video on demand unit Altech Node and mobile service provider Altech Autopage.

How has the closure of Autopage affected you? Tell us by clicking here.

Altron subsequently reported a loss for the year from total operations of R1.1bn. From a total operations perspective, the company said its revenue slid 4% to R26.6bn.

The company’s headline earnings per share (HEPS) further declined to a loss of R1.45 compared to the profit of 94 cents reported last year.

“As a result of the difficult trading conditions being experienced by the Altron group, and the current level of debt, the main focus is to strengthen the financial position and to reduce debt,” said the company in a statement to shareholders.

“As a result, the directors have decided not to declare a dividend for the financial year ended 29 February 2016,” added the company.

Amid the poor results, a bright spot for Altron was its IT company Bytes Group which recorded a 14% rise in revenue from R8.3bn to R9.4bn.

Bytes group also recorded an increase in Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) of 9% from R616m to R670m.  

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