Mustek just had a banner year – here’s why

JSE-listed technology group Mustek on Thursday reported a 248% leap in full-year headline earnings per share, hiked its dividend per share by 246% and said revenue climbed by more than a quarter to over R8-billion.

“The group had an exceptional trading performance for the financial year to 30 June 2021, with our diversified portfolio of products and services providing a clear advantage in the marketplace,” Mustek said.

“Revenue continued the growth trajectory that started during the previous financial year due to surging demand sparked by remote working requirements and remote learning,” it said.

Group revenue rose by 25.6% to R8.04-billion, with this growth coming “from across the board”, with the two largest segments, Mustek and Rectron, growing their revenue by 22.6% and 30% respectively.

“Rectron benefited from the surge in demand for its products. The addition of HP printers, Zebra and DJI Enterprise to its range of products towards the end of the 2020 financial year assisted its growth.”

Margins

Gross profit margin increased to 14.8% (14.2% a year ago), driven by increased demand for the group’s products and worldwide supply shortages. Favourable foreign exchange movements led to forex profits of R10.5-million, from a R56.8 million loss in the 2020 financial year.

Inventory days (excluding inventories in transit) improved to 67.8 days (2020: 92.8 days). Trade receivable days improved to 49.2 days (2020: 55 days).

The question now is, will the good tidings last? Mustek, which is led by founder and CEO David Kan, said it is “ideally placed in an industry benefiting from the ’new normal’ that includes working from home and remote learning across the basic education and higher education sectors”, the group said.

“We are confident that the working- and learning-from-home reality is more than a passing trend. Employees had a glimpse of what their workplaces can be, and most will demand this type of flexibility from their employers in future. This scenario has created, and is still building, a valuable new customer base for our business.”

In addition, Mustek said its investments into new products, including networking equipment, sustainable energy and fibre, are “starting to contribute meaningfully to both revenue and profit”.

“The growth in fibre to the home is not only assisting our fibre sales, but also increasing the demand for new devices to fully benefit from the faster Internet speeds,” it said.

“We have seen a marked increase in the demand for our products since the level-5 lockdown and believe that the device market size is increasing. This bodes well for future replacement cycles. The increased device market size will also drive demand for new infrastructure to support these devices and will accelerate the growth of the ICT industry over the short and medium term.” — © 2021 NewsCentral Media