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Altron’s platform businesses continue to grow, accounting for most of its profit, while comprising less than half of its income. Altron has been under pressure to expand units such as Netstar after the unbundling of Bytes Technology. Its strategy is premised on “quality earnings”, underpinned by growing its base of annuity or recurring revenues and higher margin business lines, in areas such as financial technology (fintech). The strategy appears to be bearing fruit, with the group saying the present period denoted a “meaningful inflection point” for its platforms: Netstar, Altron Fintech and Altron Healthtech. On Monday, the JSE-listed technology firm said trading is in line with management’s expectations. In a note to investors, the group said: “Operational momentum evidenced in the prior year continued into HY27. Our Platforms segment, Altron’s growth engine, delivered high-single-digit revenue growth. IT Services delivered modest revenue growth, a notable improvement on the prior comparative period when revenue declined, resulting in overall growth in revenue from continuing operations in the low single digits.”The update was based on the first five months of trading for this financial year to July 2026. The group said its performance has been boosted by “focus and discipline in deploying capital into higher-margin, annuity-based growth opportunities”, which continued in the first half of 2027.The contribution from the platform businesses increased further to about 45% of group revenue, while accounting for about 95% of operating profit.This picture is expected to remain constant for the full year. “The structural shift towards annuity-based revenue, 68% of total group revenue, continues to enhance the quality of earnings and support higher levels of cash flow generation. As a result, the group maintained a positive net cash position and ungeared balance sheet after dividend payments of about R750m in June 2026, including a special dividend,” said the company. Earnings at Netstar increased “in the mid-teens”, driven by a strong performance in the South African business.Having crossed 2-million customers, the priority is targeted investment focused on sales expansion, platform modernisation, customer acquisition and “strengthening long-term competitiveness”.For Altron FinTech, revenue and earnings are growing by “mid-to-high teens”.Performance was underpinned by “continued customer acquisition, healthy transaction volume growth, lower-than-expected customer churn and ongoing expansion of its payments and collections ecosystem”.Annuity revenue exceeded 85% of total revenue for the unit, helped by its growing point-of-sale device offering. The healthtech unit has been helped by growth in the corporate market and data monetisation for profits and cash generation, with mid-teen earnings growth. The group’s other two segments — IT services and distribution — continue to grow, albeit operating at lower margins and recurring revenue. On the same day, the group announced that Lauren Wilson, the group’s chief legal officer, had been appointed as company secretary with effect from August 31.Shares in Altron were little changed on the day at R28.45, valuing the group at about R12bn. The stock has rallied through the year and is up 42.5% in 2026.Business Day
