Fintech investment group Capital Appreciation’s full-year earnings grew by a quarter after a strong performance by its payments division.
The group, which operates through three main segments: payments and payment infrastructure and services; software and services; and international, reported headline earnings of R206.9m for the year to end-March, up 25.2% from the previous year. This translated into headline earnings per share (HEPS) of 17.57c from 13.99c before.
Revenue was 7.6% higher at R1.25bn, while operating profit grew 22.1% to R285.4m.
A final dividend of 7.5c per share was declared, bringing the total to 12c.
The group reported an “exceptional performance” from the payments division.
The payments division provides infrastructure, technical support and technology solutions to established financial institutions, emerging service providers and corporate clients in sectors such as retail, fuel, hospitality and healthcare. It also supplies electronic point-of-sale devices, offers device fleet management solutions and enables merchants to process both banking and non-banking transactions through a single device.
The group said software’s financial performance improved in the second half but remained below expectations. However, remediation plans were starting to take effect, improving cost management, efficiency and financial performance.
Both the payments and software divisions attracted new clients, initiated new projects with existing clients, and renewed long-term contracts, it said.
The group said it had continued to invest in growth-related initiatives, including leased terminals in payments and product development in software. This diversification and organic expansion created significant opportunities for future growth.
“Capital Appreciation’s businesses are well-positioned, and the prospects are very encouraging. With the pace of technological advances and the digital transformation needs evident throughout the economy, we anticipate that the current prospective pipeline will transform positively as business confidence and economic activity gather momentum,” it said.
“While we anticipate low economic growth to persist for the 2026 financial year, several initiatives are under way with the potential to deliver exceptional performance.”
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