AYO is a stoic Group. It’s diversity, agility, prudent investment discipline and operational excellence is what sets it apart from the ordinary and what enabled our commendable performance in this unsettling period. Very swiftly, the team adapted to the “new normal” ensuring exemplary business continuity and managed to produce strong revenue growth and adequate profitability in the present business context. All but one of the Group’s investments contributed positively to the overall results and I congratulate the individual CEOs on their sterling job leading their respective teams during the period.

Not only did our Group companies step up to the plate when in the blink of an eye our entire nation became solely reliant on technology, but they went above and beyond delivering an essential service to actively participating in the global fight against the pandemic. A key achievement deserving mention here is the contribution of HST, who implemented 28 critical integration projects between their anchor client, NHLS, and numerous private laboratories to enable the communication, cross-reference and consolidation of PCR test results across different platforms, to provide our Government and media with real-time statistics of infection rates and active cases. They further provided their proprietary IT systems to the two temporary field hospitals in the Western Cape, all at no cost, demonstrating to the whole country how a true leader and excellent corporate citizen should behave in a moment of crisis.

As strong and resilient as the AYO Group is, we could not completely escape the economic disruption of the pandemic. The instant and near-complete shutdown of non-essential business operations in March 2020 slowed down the progress of our acquisition projects and forced the Group to refocus operations to ensure we preserve and protect our shareholders’ investments from the ensuing economic rollercoaster. Thus, while we remained on course  with our underlying strategy, negotiations and due diligence assessments were stalled and the exciting announcements I was looking forward to making in respect of significant transactions, such as the 100% acquisition of Kathea Communications and 60% share capital acquisition of Disruptive Vision, amongst others, could not be completed in the frame of the financial year. Notwithstanding, we continue to work on maximising our shareholders’ capital, grow our asset base and enhance our portfolio to create value for our stakeholders and promote technology-rooted African development.

“AYO IS A STOIC GROUP. IT’S DIVERSITY, AGILITY, PRUDENT INVESTMENT DISCIPLINE AND OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE IS WHAT SETS IT APART FROM THE ORDINARY AND WHAT ENABLED OUR COMMENDABLE PERFORMANCE IN THIS UNSETTLING PERIOD.”

FULL SPEED AHEAD

Vladimir Lenin said that “there are decades when nothing happens and then there are weeks where decades happen”. COVID-19 is definitely one of these defining moments and I believe its net effect has been the acceleration of trends and events that were already under way. With technology expected to be the primary driver for the country’s economic revival and AYO’s strong operational foundation and cash balance, I am feeling positive and excited about the future.

The South African economy is still for the most part, an old-style industrial type and thus, has enormous potential to benefit from modern technological advancements. I believe industries such as retail, logistics, agriculture, education and manufacturing will undergo deep disruption and transformation in the very near future. Similarly, the new trends we have been observing in financial services, communications and advertising, driven by underlying technologies such as blockchain, IoT and big data analytics will see significant increase in rates of adoption across the African continent. As stressful as this year has been, it has served to level the playing field and has essentially given Africa an opportunity to overcome decades of lagging behind more developed economies and leapfrog legacy systems into a competitive economic powerhouse.

This presents exciting opportunities for a solid investment group like AYO with a firm grasp on modern, disruptive technologies and we aim to take advantage of the circumstances to further diversify our portfolio with fresh new acquisitions that will complement our existing offering in the market, enhance the African digital ecosystem and enable us to create further stakeholder value for years to come. 

I am also extremely proud of the initiatives AYO has led and participated in over the past year to promote and support education, innovation, entrepreneurship and the development of our communities. I believe it is not just our responsibility, as good corporate citizens, but also our duty as a business to uplift and nurture our emerging and future leaders. I am humbled by the quality of local talent and innovative ideas that we have encountered through platforms like the Fast Company Most Innovative Companies event and the SA Innovation Summit and look forward to engaging further with these bright young minds to make South Africa a better place for all.

Last but definitely not least, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to our engaged and inspired Board and our dedicated staff for their astounding achievements during this chaotic year. Your perseverance, commitment and positivity have been the driving engine behind all our successes. Your passion and professionalism shines through all our common endeavours and thanks to you, we can be proud of the strong, resilient and thriving Group that AYO has become. I wish to acknowledge and thank our business partners, clients, subsidiaries and associated companies for their continuous support and integrity. We are who we are because of you.

To you, our stakeholder, I pledge tremendous gratitude for your continued support and confidence in us. Your trust in our shared vision to propel AYO into a respected and admired driver of Africa’s economic turnaround motivates and inspires us every day to be and do better; to forge ahead and create a better tomorrow for all.

Howard Plaatjes
Chief Executive Officer
22 December 2020