Mustek Limited, the country’s largest assembler and one of the largest distributors of personal computers and complementary ICT products, has on 27 August 2014, announced its full year financial results for the period July 2013 ending June 2014 (FY14).
The Mustek Limited Group, which wholly owns the Mustek and Rectron companies has produced financial highlights that include:
– Revenue from continuing operations up 13.4% to ZAR4.76 billion, from ZAR4.20 billion in 2013
– Headline Earning per share up 38,3% to 100,72c, from 72,85c in 2013
– Dividend per share up 40% to 28c, from 20c in 2013
– Net asset value per share up 12,7% to 858,67c, from 762,10c in 2013
“We are delighted by this forward-looking set of results for the financial year ending June 2014. At the beginning of FY14 we set out to deliver revenue growth, to maximise our operational efficiencies and to secure competitive, sustainable margins, while continuing to expand on the diversification of products with growth potential. I believe we have achieved these goals, and I’m especially pleased that our sales team have managed to improve our Gross Profit percentage from 13,5% to 13,8%, after a declining trend in recent years. All in all we’re happy to report back on a solid performance from The Group, ” Says Neels Coetzee, Mustek Limited Financial Director.
The revenue growth during this period was supported largely by the growth of the Acer, Lenovo and Asus mobility product ranges, as well as the security range of products distributed through Mustek’s security arm: Mustek Security Technologies (MST). A key achievement to call out is the performance of Mecer, Mustek’s locally assembled brand, which constitutes 20% of the turnover, despite the decline of global desktop computing sales.
The company remains operationally sound, considering the volatile nature of the industry. The company has a strong position within the industry, providing a broad national footprint, extensive product and service offering into the local technology market and is proud to announce its recent achievement of a BBBEE level 2 rating. Central to this is the significant focus on up-skilling and investing in its staff, providing training programmes, which assist with job creation and employee empowerment.
“We’ve had an exceptional year, considering the unpredictable times the wider IT industry experienced in the past financial year. We believe that this year provides the ideal platform to continue supporting our provision of solutions in the mobility, Digital Security Surveillance, volume licensing, networking and cabling arenas, continuing our emphasis on the Education, Health, Security and both public and private enterprise sectors. In FY15 we will be looking to further diversify our existing offerings – focusing on increasing volumes, and aiming to achieve a Gross Profit margin of 14%, as it remains a driver of performance across our operations. We are confident and well equipped to adapt to the dynamic industry we play in, and are excited about the opportunities the new financial year presents.”
Looking ahead, Mustek Limited will continue to focus on growing broad-based distribution, as well as its tablet business, including offerings from Asus, Mecer, Lenovo, Acer, and Toshiba.
The company will also continue to invest in key industry partnerships and solutions, exploring opportunities within the security, cabling, volume licensing and networking arenas.
The company invested in a security company five years ago, now known as Mustek Security Technologies, which is starting to show healthy profit due to the significant opportunity that Digital Security Surveillance represents amongst corporate’s and government.
The Group is also starting to see traction in its Microsoft Volume Licensing offering, Huawei Enterprise Solutions, and Cabling products (in the form of The Group’s partnership with Brand-Rex) and expects growing contributions to both revenue and profit going forward. In FY15, the Huawei Enterprise division is expected to yield returns and is currently rolling out a project for Zambia Railway Limited.
While the IT sector is expected to remain volatile and ever-changing, Mustek Limited believe that with its broad product offering and in-depth understanding of its value proposition, it has paved a sustainable future for the company and its stakeholders.