Illustrative Image: The Johannesburg Stock Exchange in Johannesburg. (Photo: Waldo Swiegers / Bloomberg via Getty Images) | Arrows. (Image: Freepik) | (By Daniella Lee Ming Yesca) This week, we consider five updates that give us something to smile about on the local market.
Tech trio: Altron, Datatec and Lesaka Technologies
Although these companies don’t compete directly, they are a reminder that the JSE has a decent number of exciting technology and platform businesses.
Altron has been quite the turnaround story, after cleaning up the group and focusing on areas where it can win with better margins. An updated trading statement tells us that HEPS (headline earnings per share) from continuing operations for the year ended February jumped by between 31% and 37%. Although the share price is only up 4.6% in the past year, it’s important to note that it has approximately doubled in the past two years.
Datatec has had a similar run to Altron over two years, with the global technology company enjoying a strong period in the year ended February 2026. HEPS jumped by between 51% and 58.8%, driven by an excellent underlying performance at Westcon International and Logicalis International. Technology distribution isn’t usually seen as an exciting point in the value chain, but it’s clearly getting the job done at the moment.
At Lesaka, where we have more detailed numbers to work with rather than just a trading statement, we find a fintech and platform business that achieved adjusted Ebitda growth of 45% in the latest quarter. This was driven by a net revenue increase of 16%, so the incremental value of new revenue is highly profitable.
In fact, Lesaka has now gone through an important inflection point. The company has swung from a net loss to a net profit. If revenue growth continues at a decent rate, they should experience rapid growth in net profit.
The concern at Lesaka lies in the merchant segment, where net revenue was down by 4%. This is not what investors want to see in a growth stock, particularly as this is still the biggest segment in the group. The good news is that consumer revenue and enterprise revenue jumped by 41% and 78% respectively, driving the impressive group result.
Even without the Bank Zero acquisition being taken into account (which is the correct approach given the uncertainty around timing of regulatory approvals), Lesaka has raised earnings guidance for FY26. The combined focus on adjusted Ebitda and the concept of “beating guidance” tells you that Lesaka is positioning itself to a global investor base. This isn’t the kind of language that we are used to seeing from JSE-listed technology stocks.
Southern Sun’s bright second half
After an interim period to September that was impacted by refurbishments and issues in some of the African markets in which the company operates, Southern Sun made good in the second half of the year.
A trading statement for the year to March 2026 highlights adjusted HEPS growth of between 17% and 21%, a particularly exciting outcome after adjusted HEPS was flat in the six months to September.
The Paradise Sun was back online in the second half of the year, contributing to higher occupancies. If we isolate the South African portfolio, we find occupancy of 64.3% vs 61.9% in 2025. Aside from inbound leisure travel, Southern Sun has enjoyed demand related to major conferences and exhibitions, with the G20 in Gauteng as just one example.
There are reasons to be concerned about the impact of the oil price on demand. It’s becoming hellishly expensive to travel, with a likely impact on inbound travellers and even domestic travel. At least Southern Sun will be navigating this period from a position of strength, as the balance sheet is in good shape and most parts of the business are performing well.
Beer volumes boost AB InBev
With its share price up by 25% this year, AB InBev has rewarded investors who were willing to ignore the headlines about a reduction in alcohol consumption. This is a global business with a product range that now includes all kinds of beer variants, so they are trying to extract growth by matching product decisions to regional tastes.
For now at least, it’s working. In South America, beer volumes have achieved record levels in countries like Colombia and Brazil, while Mexico (Corona’s home market) remains strong. Corona is also exporting very well, with exceptional growth as the beer continues to ride the rather odd wave of brand value that came from carrying the same name as a global pandemic!
Overall, the latest quarter saw an increase in beer volumes of 1.2%. The market was expecting to see flat or even negative volumes, with price increases taking the company into the green. Instead, the modest increase in volumes was enough for the share price to close 8.3% higher on the day – a serious lift for a company of this size.
Something to keep an eye on is Ebitda margin, which contracted by 15 basis points to 35.6% despite the higher volumes. Still, with normalised Ebitda up by 5.3%, AB InBev just might regain its reputation as a defensive play. This promising shift will take more than one quarter to be cemented in the hearts (and glasses) of investors though. DM