Black-empowered telecommunications group Celcom this morning became the 33rd company to list on the JSE's Alternative Exchange (AltX).
The company, which raised R23 million in a private placement that was 10 times oversubscribed, aims to grow aggressively on the continent, says group CEO Stefano Brachini.
Celcom, which has five operating divisions, placed its private shares at R1 each; however, the first trade just after the market opened at 9am was at R1.25. By 9.48am, the shares, trading under the ticker code CEL, were trading at R1.16, which was 7.20% down on its opening price.
Brachini says the company, which already has a presence in eight African countries, is "very, very hungry" for growth in Africa and wants to leverage its listing in order to fund acquisitive growth.
He says there is an opportunity in a fast-growing, but relatively untapped market as Africa is hungry for telecommunications. The continent is currently dominated by voice, but as the world moves towards a converged environment, Celcom aims to benefit through its five operating companies.
Growth drivers
Africa, says Brachini, is hungry for an Internet explosion and convergence, due to a historical lack of telecommunications, which will do Africa more justice than any other continent.
This will open trade opportunities for the continent and will aid in growing gross domestic product in individual countries. Brachini points out that average revenue per user is high when compared to countries' revenues.
In addition, the prepaid market dominates the continent, with African citizens spending a large portion of earnings on communication.
Celcom, founded in 1994, was 19.3% owned by a black consortium on listing. The company's pro forma revenue to June was R465 million, which generated earnings of R18.1 million. It has forecast revenue of R684.3 million and core earnings of R22 million for the 2007 year.
By June 2008, the company is hopeful it will hit the R1 billion mark, taking core earnings to R27 million.
The group operates through five entities: mobile phone, enhancement and accessory firm Celcom; Virtual Payment Solutions, which does real-time electronic transfer and payment systems for prepaid airtime and other ticket applications; and Go Mobile Communications, which offers cellphone service packages for the corporate market.
It also owns Machine Logistics, which offers hardware and technology for data transmission between machines over cellphone networks; and V Cellular Stores, a telecommunications retail franchise outlet owner, comprising 13 Vodacom franchise stores.
AltX, founded just over three years ago, currently has a market capitalisation of R6.3 billion, with another two ICT companies expected to list before the end of the month.
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