Electronic products manufacturer and distributer Ellies CEO Wayne Samson said on Wednesday it was “well positioned” for South Africa’s anticipated migration from analogue broadcasting to digital terrestrial television.

Speaking at the JSE-listed firm’s interim results presentation in Johannesburg, he pointed out that despite Communications Minister Dina Pule’s announcement that the migration was being delayed from April to the third quarter of 2012, Ellies expected it to spark significant growth in the company.

Ellies partnered with JSE-listed Allied Technologies (Altech) subsidiary Altech UEC in 2009, to distribute the set-top boxes (STBs) manufactured by Altech UEC. STBs would be required in households with analogue television sets to convert the digital signal to analogue.

Discussing the company’s prospects, Samson said new product development and a strong focus on renewable energy would continue.

“Although we have not seen substantial investment in renewable energy from our clients, we have done a lot of investigating into growing this section of our business.

“Renewable energy has been moving slow in South Africa, but it will soon be coming here in a big way and we need to ready for it,” he noted.

Samson also noted that Ellies had sealed a contract with State-owned utility Eskom regarding energy saving initiatives.

Meanwhile, he said the company foresaw a stronger order book and more new ventures for its industrial electrification unit Megatron, as a result of the growing African market and specifically its mining sector.

“We expect more telecommunications towers, infrastructural data facilities and data centre installation projects,” Samson noted.

Further, he said the company was satisfied with its financial performance in the six months to the end of October. Revenue increased by 10.5% to R721.2-million, while after-tax profit grew by 35.6% to R62.38-million from R46.02-million in the previous comparable period.
 

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