The worst days of the Covid-19 pandemic may be over, but information and communications technology group Mustek will continue to benefit from the digital transformation kick-started by the coronavirus as many continue to embrace technology and work from home.
“Demand for products to support remote working and learning environments remains buoyant,” the company said on Tuesday in its 2022 results.
The R843m company said demand for its infrastructure and networking solutions, green energy, cloud, software and cybersecurity offerings contributed to its 2022 revenue and profit.
David Kan, who founded the company in 1987, was an icon in the IT industry and built the company into one of the largest assemblers and distributors of personal computers in SA after emigrating from Taiwan. He died in May.
Profit for the year fell by about a quarter to R225.2m in part because of supply-chain disruptions affecting the industry over the past two years.
This eased over the second half of the year, Mustek said, but “still remains constrained, with product shortages in several areas”.
Mustek believes this will continue in the new financial year, but considers it as “positive for the group since it helps with pricing power if stock is available”.
Many companies have highlighted the worldwide shortage of semiconductors, which are mainly used in consumer and auto electronics.
Mustek’s revenue increased by 11.5% year on year to R8.9bn. Almost all its revenue, at 96.1%, is generated from hardware sales.
Headline earnings, a widely used measure of profit that strips out impairments and one-off items, declined by more than a quarter to R224m for the year end-June.
It upped its dividend per share by 15.6% to 76c while cash and cash equivalents jumped 40.2% to R375.3m.
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