Technology firm Reunert will offer its shares through a secondary listing on Johannesburg’s A2X exchange as a way to make trading of its securities easier for investors.
The group, valued at about R11.07bn on the JSE, has operations that include the design and manufacturing of electrical conductors, cables and accessories, as well as ICT-related services for businesses. It also has niche businesses that cover communications and radar systems.
On Monday, Reunert said its ordinary shares are to be traded on the A2X from August 15. Reunert will retain its primary listing on the JSE and its issued share capital will be unaffected by the secondary listing on A2X, making the stock available on both exchanges.
The company says the secondary listing also does not give rise to additional fees or compliance obligations.
A2X, which began trading in October 2017 and is partly owned by Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital, is a licensed stock exchange authorised to provide a secondary listing platform for companies. It currently has 170 listings with a combined market capitalisation of more than R10-trillion.
In a statement, Reunert group CEO Alan Dickson said a listing on the secondary market will help access new capital and investors, thereby improving the share’s overall liquidity.
“Reunert continually seeks ways to grow and add value for existing shareholders. Buyers on the secondary market will have the benefit of interconnected trades that will both broaden our retail shareholder base and diversify our shareholder portfolio.”
The company joins the likes of Absa, Naspers, Prosus, Sanlam, Sasol, Aspen Pharmacare, Exxaro, AVI, Mr Price, Growthpoint, Momentum Metropolitan and Famous Brands on the A2X.
The group — established more than 130 years ago — has three segments: electrical engineering, which includes power and telecom cables; infotech; and applied electronics, which includes renewable energy solutions and radars.
On the JSE, Reunert’s stock has done well recently, gaining more than a third or 39% in the last 12 months. It reported a jump in interim profit last week thanks to record sales of renewable power products, spurred by SA’s energy crisis.
The electronics company is one of a handful of companies that have done well due to load-shedding, given its investments in renewable energy and supply contracts with the power sector.
The group’s applied electronics segment had a strong first half. Revenue was up 49% to R1.6bn and operating profit almost trebled to R163m, driven by strong exports and demand for its renewable energy products.
Group profit for the six months to end-March rose almost a third to R422m and it announced an interim dividend of 83c a share, an increase of 10.7% from a year earlier.
Reunert has just closed a big acquisition, receiving permission from the competition authorities in June to buy a 74.2% stake in IQbusiness, one of SA’s largest management and technology consulting firms.
It generates more than R1bn in revenue and employs more than 1,000 people offering insights, consulting and contracting across consumer convergence in the financial services, retail and telecommunications sectors and the manufacturing sector.
The transaction will boost Reunert’s delivery of end-to-end technology solutions to its 40,000 clients across industries in multiple countries as the listed electronics group seeks to broaden its services.
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