Last close As at 05/08/2026
ZAR88.30
▲ −0.20 (−0.23%)
Market capitalisation
ZAR21,528m
Research: TMT
Datatec’s H125 results confirmed improved profitability in each division, resulting in a 56% y-o-y increase in underlying EPS to 11.4c. Group revenue declined 5.5% y-o-y, mainly reflecting a shift towards net revenue- reported software, but gross profit increased 3.5% due to a better product mix. Combined with good cost control, adjusted EBITDA increased by 18.5% y-o-y, resulting in a 0.9pp increase in the adjusted EBITDA margin to 4.1%. The group closed H125 with net debt of $108m, down from $123m at the end of FY24. Despite softer European markets, the company expects all divisions to report improved financial performance in FY25. We are reviewing our forecasts.
Datatec |
Better profitability across the board |
H125 results |
Software and comp services |
24 October 2024 |
Share price performance
Business description
Analyst
Datatec is a research client of Edison Investment Research Limited |
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Datatec’s H125 results confirmed improved profitability in each division, resulting in a 56% y-o-y increase in underlying EPS to 11.4c. Group revenue declined 5.5% y-o-y, mainly reflecting a shift towards net revenue- reported software, but gross profit increased 3.5% due to a better product mix. Combined with good cost control, adjusted EBITDA increased by 18.5% y-o-y, resulting in a 0.9pp increase in the adjusted EBITDA margin to 4.1%. The group closed H125 with net debt of $108m, down from $123m at the end of FY24. Despite softer European markets, the company expects all divisions to report improved financial performance in FY25. We are reviewing our forecasts.
Year |
Revenue |
PBT* |
Diluted EPS* |
DPS |
P/E |
Yield |
02/23 |
5,143 |
86.5 |
24.1 |
77.7 |
8.8 |
36.5 |
02/24 |
5,458 |
76.5 |
19.7 |
7.0 |
10.8 |
3.3 |
02/25e |
5,731 |
111.3 |
27.4 |
8.5 |
7.8 |
4.0 |
02/26e |
5,991 |
127.1 |
31.6 |
9.9 |
6.5 |
4.8 |
Note: *PBT and EPS are normalised, excluding amortisation of acquired intangibles, exceptional items and share-based payments.
Group revenue declined 5.5% y-o-y to $2.61bn, gross profit increased 3.5% y-o-y to $433m and adjusted EBITDA increased 18.5% y-o-y to $106m. Datatec reported basic EPS of 11.3c (+81% y-o-y) and headline basic EPS of 10.5c (+66% y-o-y). Underlying basic EPS was 11.4c (+56% y-o-y), just under half our FY25 forecast of 25.4c. Following a peer analysis, management no longer excludes unrealised foreign exchange gains/losses from its underlying EPS figure. Prior to this adjustment, H124 EPS was 9.6c.
Westcon revenue declined 2.9% y-o-y to $1.80bn, mainly due to net revenue-reported software sales but also reflecting weaker demand for networking products. Conversely, gross margin increased 1pp to 12.0%, helped by product mix and a growing contribution from Flex financial services. Adjusted EBITDA increased 14.4% to $71.2m with the margin increasing 0.6pp to 4.0%. Logicalis International revenue declined 10.9% y-o-y to $575m due to an increase in the proportion of software and services revenue. Gross profit was 4% higher, boosting the margin by 4.1pp to 28.5% and adjusted EBITDA increased 35% to $38.4m, with a margin of 6.7% (up 2.3pp y-o-y). Logicalis Latin America revenue declined 18.1% to $215m, mainly due to a lower opening backlog, although order intake has improved during the period. Gross profit declined 14.8%, resulting in a small improvement in gross margin to 22.4%. With operating costs reduced 21% y-o-y, adjusted EBITDA only declined 6.3%, while the margin increased 0.3pp to 2.6%.
Lower working capital requirements helped offset higher interest rates, resulting in a significant increase in cash from operating activities; net debt reduced from $174.8m a year ago and $123.1m at end FY24 to $108.4m at the end of H125. The company announced an interim dividend of ZAR0.75, equivalent to 4.3c at current exchange rates. Trading is improving in Latin America and is robust in the US, whereas there is some softness in certain European markets. Management expects to deliver a better financial performance in FY25 than in FY24. We are reviewing our forecasts.
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Research: Investment Companies
Gresham House Energy Storage Fund (GRID) invests in utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Great Britain. The company recently hosted a site visit for analysts and investors to its 50MW capacity Enderby plant in Leicestershire, which included updates from GRID’s Manager Ben Guest, Deputy Manager James Bustin and Chairman John Leggate. This note outlines the day’s key takeaways, and subsequent news that gives the company more scope to pay dividends from distributable reserves if required.