JSE-listed Altron on Monday posted double-digit growth in earnings for the six months ended August 31, 2026, supported by strong performance from Netstar and Altron FinTech and the return of IT Services to profitability.

During the first half of the 2027 financial year, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) increased 16% to R1.1-billion, with the Ebitda margin expanding to 21.5%.

Headline earnings a share and earnings a share for the half-year under review increased 14% to 109c and 96c respectively.

Operating profit rose 13% to R622-million operating profit, while Altron’s operating margin increased to 12.3%. Altron’s net profit after tax increased 17% to R385-million.

“The first half of the 2027 financial year represents a strong start to our transformative growth strategy and reflects continued execution against the priorities outlined at our capital markets day,” said Altron CEO Werner Kapp.

“The group delivered its strongest interim top-line growth in three years, while continuing to improve the quality and predictability of earnings through a higher annuity revenue mix and strong cash generation, which increased 32% to just over R1-billion generated in six months.”

During the six months ended August 31, Altron achieved a 5% rise in revenue to R5.1-billion revenue.

A deliberate focus on deployment of capital into higher-margin, annuity revenue growth opportunities resulted in a higher contribution from the company’s Platforms segments.

During the six months under review, the Platforms segment contributed 47% to group revenue, 93% to group Ebitda and more than 95% to group operating profit.

The segment delivered an 11% increase in annuity revenue to R2.2-billion, which represented 92% of the total R2.4-billion in Platform revenue for the period under review, and a 16% rise in Ebitda to R1-billion. Operating profit increased 13% to R619-million.

Within the Platforms segment, Altron FinTech, the group’s largest contributor to operating profit in the half-year under review, increased revenue by 14% to R858-million, Ebitda by 18% to R324-million and operating profit by 17% to R300-million.

Altron FinTech increased its revenue by 14% to R858-million, Ebitda by 18% to R324-million and operating profit by 17% to R300-million.

“Ongoing success in the collection and payment platform continued to drive the strong performance, with healthy customer acquisition, particularly in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector, and the number of debit orders and value thereof both growing 14%, leading to an increase in activity on the platform.”

The business continues to benefit from operating leverage and scale advantages, with operating profit more than doubling over the past three years from R132-million in the first half of 2024 to R300-million in the first half of 2027.

Meanwhile, Netstar delivered a resilient performance with annuity revenue increasing 11% to R1.2-billion and representing 94% of total revenue, reflecting the group’s deliberate shift towards higher-quality, recurring revenue streams through disciplined capital allocation.

Overall revenue increased 6% to R1.3-billion, with annuity revenue growth partially offset by lower hardware sales. Non-annuity revenue represent 6% of Netstar’s revenue base.

Ebitda for the six months ended August 31 increased 15% to R619-million, with the unit’s Ebitda margin expanding to 47.7%, driven primarily by growth in the South African business. Operating profit increased 10% to R248-million.

“Having successfully scaled the business to more than two-million subscribers, the 2027 financial year is a deliberate reset and investment year for Netstar,” Altron highlighted.

Altron HealthTech also continued to deliver solid profitability and cash generation, with its Ebitda increasing 13% to R76-million, while revenue edged up 2% to R205-million during the first half of the year.

Meanwhile, the IT Services segment reported an increase in revenue of 4% to R2.5-billion, its first period of revenue growth after the restructuring over the past two years.

Ebitda during the half-year under review increased to R129-million and operating profit was up 62% to R99-million.

Within the IT Services segment, Altron Digital Business achieved a significantly improved financial performance, with revenue increasing 8% to R1.6-billion, Ebitda improving to a profit of R32-million and operating profit increasing to R22-million, from a loss in the prior corresponding period.

Altron Document Solutions also continued a strong momentum into the first half of 2027, with a 4% increase in revenue to R722-million, a 30% increase in Ebitda to R60-million and a 45% increase in operating profit to R48-million.

This reflected continued operational discipline, a favourable product and service mix and growing customer demand for digital print and AI-enabled workflow solutions. The business remains focused on customer relevance, expanding higher-value solutions and delivering consistent profitability and cash generation despite a challenging market backdrop.

However, Altron Security revenue decreased 18% to R207-million and Ebitda decreased 53% to R37-million owing to software revenue recognition timing in the platform component of the Altron Security business and a constrained enterprise spending environment in the IT Services component of Altron Security.

In the Distribution segment, Altron Arrow, while a relatively small contributor to group, had a strong first half, with revenue increasing 35% to R388-million and operating profit increasing 33% to R24-million.