PBT Group, which provides data and analytics solutions and services to its clients, lifted revenue by 11.8% to R1.1 billion in the year to March 31, a record for the company.
Performing already off a high base from the 2022 financial year, earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation increased 2.5% to R142m, also a record for PBT. The revenue growth represented a four-year compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17%.
“We executed our strategy to dispose of non-core assets and returned net proceeds to shareholders in the form of R220.2m or R2.10 per share in special cash distributions and R10m in the form of share repurchases,” chairperson Tony Taylor and CEO Elizna Read said in the results on Friday.
They said the group had been further streamlined as a focused data specialist and software services and solutions provider.
Healthy cash flows enabled a final ordinary dividend of 33 cents per share, bringing the total for the year 1.8% higher at 58 cents per share.
Normalised headline earnings per share fell 0.9% to 74.88 cents. A special cash distribution of 210 cents per share included the 150 cents per share special cash distribution declared in April 2023 from the Payapps sale proceeds.
Looking ahead, the directors said the challenging economic environment might result in clients delaying projects and budget commitments being pushed out. PBT was also facing inflationary cost pressures, which could impact profit margins.
“These challenges can be a hurdle to near-term growth. However, the demand for our services remains strong and we are optimistic about our longer-term future as a focused professional services business,” Taylor and Read said.
In data analytics, insurance technologies and software development operations in South Africa, growth had been “reasonably slow” during the second half.
“Although services are still in demand, software development projects have taken preference, in which division we have experienced positive growth. Cross-skilling and investment in cloud-related training and technologies were uninterrupted and should position the company well for the future in our clients’ ongoing quest to move from on premise to the cloud.”
Project delays relating to data and analytics had had a negative impact on the business with some projects being delayed by as much as 12 months.
The South African segment also sustained the cancellation of two large-scale projects during the six month, one being a strategic client decision and the other purely based on budgetary constraints.
BUSINESS REPORT