AYO’s asset base now exceeds R5 billion
This is despite the difficult business environment the group has had to operate in over the last 18 months
JSE-LISTED ICT company AYO Technology Solutions (AYO), has grown its asset base to more than R5 billion. This is according to its latest financial statement and is despite the difficult environment the group has had to operate in over the last 18 months.
The company’s latest financial statement, which got a clean audit after one of the most detailed and thorough investigations corporate South Africa has seen to date, also revealed that cash on hand was now close to R4bn and the company’s investments exceeded the R1bn mark.
The company has paid more than R200 million in dividends over the past couple of years, continuing to deliver value to its shareholders, which includes the Public Investment Corporation. A maiden interim dividend of 35 cents per share, amounting to R120m, was paid to shareholders during the year under review.
A final dividend of 16c per share was approved by the board of directors in December for the year ended August 2019, according to the financial statement.
The company’s chief executive, Howard Plaatjes, said he was humbled by the great effort and contributions by the more than 1 000 employees to help the company grow its asset base, especially considering the tough period it has been through.
Plaatjes said the group was invested in ongoing training programmes to ensure that its staff were not only industry compliant and proficient, but were always savvy with the latest technology, trends and innovations, if they were not in fact leading and developing industry advances themselves.
“AYO is a significant contributor to the tax baseline in South Africa and is still the largest black-owned and -managed information and communication technology company in the country. We have zero debt and have built successful relationships with various fintech funds, which are already reaping rewards…” he said.
Acquisitive growth in relation to the acquisitions of Sizwe IT and SGT
Solutions also played a vital role in AYO’s performance and progression during this period. AYO has also stated on previous occasions that it has a significant pipeline of mergers and acquisitions in readiness for a ground-breaking 2020.
AYO’s chief financial officer Tatenda Bundo said: “Revenue from our existing subsidiaries remained constant, with the exception of Puleng Technologies Proprietary, which had a significant once-off contract in the prior year.”
Sasol, however, turned out to be a set-back even though, according to the integrated energy and chemical company, AYO had performed optimally. “We can only speculate as to why they terminated the contract early.
“However, the learnings though from this managed services contract have been positive and AYO is now in an excellent space to be able to expand its footprint into Africa, with a vastly experienced and professional team,” said Plaatjes.
AYO recently announced the withdrawal of a cautionary announcement dated June 4, 2019, as the tech company welcomed the audit results.