Datatec expecting double-digit H1 growth

South African Datatec has issued a trading update for the six-month period ended 31 August that shows a very healthy growth in both revenue and profitability. Revenue for the period is expected to be up 14% to $2.4b, meanwhile earnings per share are expected to more than double to between $0.19 and $0.20 per share. Datatec is now intending to pay dividends twice a year (vs. the current single payment), at the interim and full year end periods. Our real interest in Datatec of course is its UK-based network services operation Logicalis, which makes up about one quarter of Datatec’s total revenue. Although there was no detail on performance at the company, we have been encouraged by progress over recent months (see Logicalis pushes into services). This latest update suggests progress at Logicalis has continued through H1.