News

Adapt IT on Tuesday (9 March) reported a 2% drop in revenue for the six months ended December 2020, to R707 million, due to ongoing challenging and weaker trading conditions particularly in South Africa – which remains the group’s primary market, constituting 73% of total revenue. Profit from operations, however, improved by a percent, to R79.83 million. “The Covid-19 global pandemic caused repeated shutdowns or slowdowns in certain of our client segments resulting in project volume decline and delays, with project based revenue suffering longer lead times,” it said. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was R128 million, marginally down from R129 million in 2019. The impacts on earnings in the current period included an increase in bonus provision of R16 million, a negative foreign exchange movement of R10 million, and an increase in the allowance for expected credit losses of R7 million resulting from client segments most impacted by Covid-19, it...Read More

The US, UK and EU will open probes into Nvidia’s $40 billion acquisition of Arm. Accenture’s continued acquisition/investment spree dominated the international ICT market last month. At home, it was Huge’s bid for Adapt IT. Key local news Skynamo acquired mSeller, a UK-based mobile field sales technology provider. Altron is looking to divest some of its non-core businesses such as Altron Document Solutions, Altron Arrow and Altron People Solutions. Ellies Electronics is liquidating its manufacturing segment within the group on viability grounds. The Huge Group has made an R800 million offer for the shares of Adapt IT, a specialised software and digitally led business solutions provider. The MTN Group will sell its 20% shareholding in Belgacom International Carrier Services SA (BICS) to Belgian state-controlled telecoms firm Proximus for R1.8 billion, and the Administrative Court of Damascus (Syria) has placed MTN Syria under a judicial guardianship. Net1 has sold its remaining...Read More

JSE-listed technology company Adapt IT Holdings (Adapt IT) will be releasing its financial results for the six months ended 31 December 2020 on the JSE’s Stock Exchange News Service (SENS) on 9 March 2021 and via Web cast, at 10am (SAST) on Wednesday, 10 March 2021. In terms of the Listings Requirements of the JSE, companies are required to publish a trading statement as soon as they become reasonably certain that the financial results for the period to be reported on will differ by more than 20% from those of the previous corresponding period. Accordingly, a review by management of the financial results for the six months ended 31 December 2020, as disclosed on SENS today, has indicated that earnings per share (EPS), headline earnings per share (HEPS) and normalised HEPS (NHEPS) are all expected to increase. Sbu Shabalala, CEO of Adapt IT Holdings, commented: “I am pleased with our performance for the six months ended 31 December 2020. Our cash generation from operations was strong,...Read More

Adapt IT has formed an independent board committee to assess Huge Group’s unsolicited bid to buy the software company in an all-share deal valuing it at R795-million. Huge Group made the unexpected “general offer” to Adapt IT shareholders last week. Adapt IT has now, as required under South African takeover rules, constituted the independent board of directors, which is made up of Craig Chambers, Oliver Fortuin, Zizipho Nyanga and Catherine Koffman — the full complement of the company’s non-executive directorship. This board will advise shareholders on the Huge Group offer as required under the takeover regulations. It will also appoint an independent expert to issue a report on the offer and to express an opinion on whether the terms and conditions are fair and reasonable to Adapt IT shareholders. News of the creation of the independent board comes two days after Huge Group said it had secured the backing of more than three-quarters of its shareholders for its pursuit of Adapt IT....Read More

Adapt IT’s share price rose more than 12 percent on the JSE after the Huge Group made an unsolicited general offer to acquire all of the issued share capital of the specialised software and digitally-led business solutions company. Huge Group is offering to purchase all of the issued Adapt IT shares at 552 cents a share, valuing the company at R795 million, and the group said the offer represented a 33 percent premium on its 30-day weighted average traded price on January 26. Adapt IT said the offer consideration from Huge is a swop ratio of 0.9 of a Huge share for every one Adapt IT share tendered. "The swop ratio is based on a reference price of 613c per Huge share and an implied price of 552c per Adapt IT share," Adapt IT said. Adapt IT’s share price leapt by more than 12 percent yesterday morning to a day high of R5.21, up from Wednesday’s closing price of R4.01. However, the share price was still down by 72 percent compared to its high of R16.50 achieved in October 2016. Adapt...Read More

The offer is still conditional pending approval from Huge shareholders Specialist IT group Adapt IT’s share soared more than 14% after fellow technology company Huge Group made an R800m takeover bid for it. In morning trade on Thursday, Adapt IT’s share jumped 17.21% to R4.70 after earlier rising as much as 29.9%, which put it at a 16-month high. During the day, the stock pared its gains, ending the day 13.47% firmer at R4.55......Read More