Johannesburg, 08 Jul 2014
EOH Holdings Limited (EOH) launched its American Depositary Receipt (ADR) programme in the United States through a sponsored programme with BNY Mellon this week.
EOH is a leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing solutions. The South African based ICT services group is listed on the main board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in the Computer Services sub-sector with a market capitalisation of over R10.4 billion (US$1 billion). It is the largest ICT service provider in Africa and the largest implementer of enterprise applications. Listed in 1998, the company is known for consistently delivering strong financial results reflected in its compounded annual growth rate of 45% since its listing.
EOH is a client centric organisation and its approach to business relationships with clients and technology partners is firmly embedded in its philosophy of 'partner for life'. EOH's philosophy is centred on Best People; Partner for Life; Right First Time; Sustainable Transformation and growing the business, both top and bottom line, in a sustainable manner while remaining entrepreneurial.
EOH provides solutions and services in its three main areas of business - information technology, industrial technologies and business process outsourcing solutions - to medium and large enterprises which include the majority of blue chip companies in South Africa. EOH's operating model is based on a two dimensional approach; lines of business and industry verticals, with the lines of business clustered around consulting, technology and outsourcing. This model enables EOH to provide high value, end-to-end solutions to its clients in all industry verticals.
"The launch of our ADR programme will enable international investors interested in companies in emerging markets to more easily invest in EOH," explains Asher Bohbot, CEO. "We will use our DR programme to introduce EOH to international investors interested in investing in companies in emerging markets, particularly in South Africa. EOH offers good growth prospects as well as annual dividends. We operate predominantly in South Africa but also have operations in 22 other African countries. We are consolidating and expanding our African footprint and our service offerings to existing clients in the region. We will continue to grow aggressively, both organically and through acquisitions".
Each EOH DR represents one ordinary share and trades on the OTC market in the US under the symbol 'EOHYY'. EOH ordinary shares trade on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) under the symbol "EOH."
EOH was last month ranked by Financial Mail (in conjunction with Accenture) as the fourth best performing company on the JSE and has been among the top five best performing companies on the JSE for the last four years. EOH stands out from its peers as a result of :
* Its outstanding people and skill sets
* Its ability to deliver expected results to its clients through its Right First Time quality programme
* Its focus on solutions and its comprehensive end-to-end service offerings
* Strong outsourcing and cloud services
* Sound black economic empowerment profile
* Its strong financial performance over many years.
Lauren de Klerk, Vice President of BNY Mellon's Depositary Receipts business, says: "We look forward to working with EOH to unlock the potential of the US investment community."
BNY Mellon has launched over 60 American Depository Receipt programmes, making South African companies easily tradable for US investors. Shoprite, Growthpoint, Redefine, Blue Label Telecoms, Cashbuild, Sibanye Gold, Mix Telematics and Clover launched programmes in 2013 and there are several in the pipeline for 2014.
"Investor demand for South African stocks is high. American investors prefer to invest in ADRs, rather than foreign ordinary shares, as the custody costs and brokerage costs are cheaper, investors are often precluded from investing offshore and ADRs are easily accessible through their brokers. ADRs are 'wrapped' to be seen as local investments which institutional and retail investors can include in their local portfolios," explains De Klerk.
More about DRs and BNY Mellon
38 of the JSE top 40 have a DR programme. BNY Mellon is the market leader in DRs worldwide with 82% market share in South Africa. The US market has more than US$ 1 trillion invested in DRs. DRs increase liquidity on the JSE. An independent study of 628 companies with DR programmes showed liquidity increased by more than 40% and share prices increased over time.
BNY Mellon acts as depositary for more than 2 700 American and global depositary receipt programmes in 68 countries. Learn more at www.bnymellon.com/dr
BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK).
Share