JSE-listed technology services company Altron is looking to sell three subsidiaries that it says are not aligned with its new business strategy.
In an interview with ITWeb yesterday, Mteto Nyati, Altron Group chief executive, said the businesses that are up for sale are printing unit Altron Document Solutions; training and contact centre solutions provider Altron People Solutions; and Altron Arrow, a distributor of electronics components.
The interview followed the JSE-listed company’s announcement of its interim results for the six months ended 31 August.
“In the middle of the pandemic, we made a decision that three of the businesses that we have were not aligned to the Altron 2.0 that we are building,” said Nyati.
“These three businesses just do not fit into the new Altron that we are building. So we got board approval to communicate that these businesses will be sold. We have identified the businesses as non-core and they are held for sale,” he added.
Since Nyati was appointed CEO of Altron in 2017, he has focused on getting rid of some non-core assets in the group.
In January last year, he had indicated the company disposed of its last non-core asset Altech UEC, a set-top manufacturing business, to Skyblu Technologies.
The other businesses Altron sold include Powertech Batteries, Aberdare Cable and Altech Autopage.
According to Altron, the businesses the company is now looking to dispose of “are exciting businesses in their own right, but they do not fit the refined vision of a future Altron which speaks to a highly differentiated technology solutions provider”.
Consequently, the board has taken the decision to treat these businesses as held-for-sale and management is exploring opportunities to exit the businesses.
For example, Nyati said, Altron Document Solutions’ Xerox business has a 19% market share in SA. He added that Altron Arrow is a distributor of electronics components and it has a 28% market share in that space.
Altron People Solutions is focused on call centre solutions, and Nyati said it has the second largest market share in SA behind Merchants. However, he said in the training space, Altron People Solutions leads the South African market.
Nyati said the company’s new strategy, Altron 2.0, is currently under development and will be communicated in due course.
This new five-year medium-term plan for the group will guide Altron’s future as it becomes highly differentiated in its offerings.
“Altron 2.0 will still have ‘Delivering innovation that matters’ as its core guiding purpose and will include carefully selected acquisitions that are aligned to our growth areas in local as well as international geographies. Margin expansion and a high annuity base will be core objectives,” concluded Nyati.
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