Morvest revenue up to R1.1bn

Morvest's Suren Singh says that competition from Chinese products is hurting the local operations and it is now looking to expand into Africa where there is significant potential. Image: Who's Who in Southern Africa

This was despite serious concerns on reduced expenditure by the local telecommunications industry, which is its biggest market, Chief Financial Officer Suren Singh said.

The company's ICT Solutions segment contributed the most to the group rising from 41% in the previous year to 53.6% this year. The rest of the contribution came from its Business and Industrial Services division.

"The challenge we have at the moment in SA is the tremendous pricing pressure in the telecommunications sector. We have been operating there for more than 20 years but now we are facing challenges from Chinese suppliers on pricing," Singh said.

He added that beside the pricing pressure Morvest was also facing challenges on its empowerment codes, especially in increasing female participation in the company. He said after the successful implementation of the black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction in 2013, Morvest was able to secure an improved BEE rating of level 2.

"A strategic focus for the medium- to long-term will be to maintain and increase black female shareholding," he said.

Morvest is a holding group with a footprint in SA, Mozambique, Nigeria, India and the US. Its operations are in three divisions: business support services (including professional services and outsourcing solutions), ICT solutions, and its retail and consumer services unit.

Singh said close to 94% of revenue in the year under review was generated in SA and the balance came from Africa. However, he said: "These numbers show that only 6% was from the continent but we see huge growth opportunities in Africa."

Source: Business Day via I-Net Bridge