Alternative energy is a big opportunity for IT distributor Mustek, which today announced its interim results for the half-year ended 31 December 2022.

Hein Engelbrecht, CEO of the Mustek group, says the green energy opportunity is already contributing about 10% to the group’s revenue, and is set to double in 2023.

“I don’t see that the electicrity environment will go back to normal soon,” he says. “And we are well geared to address this opportunity.”

The power market has been growing for some time, Engelbrecht explains. “When load shedding started, resellers told us the UPSs we sold then didn’t really meet loadshedding needs.
So we brought inverters and batteries into the market, and we have been pleasantly surprised at how well it has been taken up.”

Another big growth area is cybersecurity and cloud solutions, he adds, while infrastructure and networking are also starting to pick up after a slowdown over the Covid years.

Drones offer partners the opportunity to expand into new market areas, and to upskill with new capabilities.

For the interim period, the group posted revenue of R4,91-billion, which is 18% higher than last year. EBITDA was down 3%at R268-million, HEPS down 6,5% at 222 cents, and net asset value per share up 14% at R25.75. During the period, cash used in operation was R125-million.