AYO Technology Solutions shareholders yesterday voted overwhelmingly in favour of a resolution for the firm to buy back some of its shares from the Government Employee Pension Fund (GEPF), which effectively finalises the settlement agreement with the Public Investment Corporation (PIC).
In terms of an agreement with the government-owned asset manager, AYO had undertaken to repurchase over 17.2 million of its shares from the GEPF, for R620.4 million. The AYO and PIC settlement agreement had been made an order of court in March 2023.
The finalising of the settlement left a clear runway for the diversified ICT investment group to ramp up its business, said AYO CEO Amit Makan.
“This significant endorsement reflects the confidence our shareholders have in the company’s leadership team, the board and its strategic direction.
“The approval of this settlement agreement marks a pivotal step forward for AYO, allowing us to focus on our core business objectives and drive long-term value creation for all stakeholders,” said Makan.
All the company’s resolutions were passed by the requisite majority at AYO’s general meeting yesterday.
“We would like to extend our gratitude to our shareholders for their continued support and trust in AYO. Together, we are now poised to advance our mission of delivering innovative technology solutions and achieving sustained growth,” said Makan.
AYO, which has weathered many storms since listing in December 2017, was now firmly back on track, as was indicated in its recent half-year results, which showed the positives of various cost containment measures and new strategies that the group had implemented over the past 12 months or so, including the recent appointment of advocate Dr Ngoako Ramatlhodi as chairman of the board.
This month AYO reported that it had already significantly cut its losses, by 62% in the six months to February 29, 2024, setting it up with the prospect of an even better second half. The headline loss per share improved by 58.14% to 33.12 cents from 79.13c in the prior corresponding financial period.
The improved performance was largely due to the embedding of restructuring and ongoing cost containment measures under a leadership team which took over the reins a year ago.
The company’s management said at the time that their focus for the next 18 months was to strengthen the underlying subsidiaries, contain costs and overcome banking challenges.
Since the beginning of the year, AYO's shares, which were untraded at 90c yesterday, have risen 12.5%, having surged 200% in the past six months off a low base.
BUSINESS REPORT