JSE-listed Allied Electronics (Altron) on Thursday posted double-digit growth in revenue and earnings from continuing operations for the year ended February 28.

Revenue for the continuing operations rose 14% to R14.7-billion during the year under review, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) increased 19% to R1.1-billion on a normalised and constant currency basis.

The normalised Ebitda margin improved to 7.6%, compared with the prior period's 7.3%.

“We have successfully delivered on our stated aim of consistent double-digit growth at an Ebitda level,” the company outlines in its year-end financial report.

Organic Ebitda growth was 13.3%, while the inclusion of Phoenix Software in the second half of the year delivered acquisitive growth of 5.5%.

Normalised and constant currency headline earnings increased by 31% from R382-million in 2017 to R500-million in 2018.

Normalised and constant currency headline earnings a share grew by 19% to 135c.

“We have made considerable progress in the continued divestment of noncore assets, lowering debt levels and reducing our exposure to the manufacturing sector,” the company said.

In terms of discontinued operations, Altron posted significant improvement from the previous year, as Ebitda swung to a profit of R8-million in 2018, from a loss of R110-million in the prior year.

“The main improvement came out of the Powertech Transformers and Altech UEC/Multimedia businesses, which generated strong Ebitda growth,” Altron points out, noting that this was further assisted by the reduced costs from the closure of the majority of the Powertech group operations.

The after-tax loss from discontinued operations improved significantly from R717-million to R253-million, as a result of a combination of improved operational performance and a reduction in the interest expense as proceeds from disposals have been used to reduce debt.