Cost management pays off for Jasco

Jasco Electronics lifts headline earnings per share by 783 percent in the six months to the end of December.

Cape Town - Jasco Electronics on Wednesday said it had lifted headline earnings per share by 783 percent in the six months to the end of December, with a significantly improved operational performance driven largely by a strong order book and prudent cost management.

Group revenue of R558.1 million was up by by 11 percent from R502.3 million in the comparative period a year before.

A statement from the company said both the carrier and intelligent technologies businesses - representing 58 percent of the group’s revenue – had shown strong growth, and management’s focus on the enterprise business had resulted in its return to profitability.

Despite what it described as difficult market conditions, the group reported profit of R14.3 million for the period, up from R1.95 million in the corresponding period a year before.

Headline earnings per share came in at 5,74 cents per share, up from 0,65 cents last time.

The statement added that its 51.1 percent shareholding in Malesela Taihan Electric Cable (M-Tec), which it had agreed to sell in July in a deal worth R60 million, remained classified as “held-for-sale”. It said approval from the Competition Commission was expected in the next few months.

Wednesday’s statement added that management’s priority was to reduce debt on receipt of the proceeds from the M-Tec sale.

ANA