Globetrotting Datatec on track for 2010

Datatec admits profits will fall on an annual comparison in its fiscal first half

Westcon and Logicalis parent Datatec has made yet another acquisition – this time in New Zealand – as it revealed it is on track to meet its 2010 revenue and profit targets.

The South Africa-listed IT group still expects revenues for the year to 31 March 2010 to fall between its previously expressed target of $3.7bn and $4bn. The firm is currently finalising its first-half results and said it generated about $1.8bn revenues during the period.

Datatec also confirmed that first-half profit would be down on last year. Earnings per share are expected to fall by 11-12 US cents, compared with 22.5 US cents a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the firm revealed it has added to distribution arm Westcon Group by acquiring Datastor in New Zealand. The purchase of the VMware, EMC, Seagate, APC, IBM and Juniper distributor - which boasts budgeted revenues of about $69m - was funded by Westcon itself.

Jens Montanana, chief executive at Datatec, said: “The Asia Pacific market has been the source of significant growth for Datatec over the past decade. This acquisition allows Westcon Group to extend its reach in the region and to service vendor demand by providing consolidated distribution channels and cross border transactional capability for partners in Asia Pacific.”

Dave Rosenberg, chief executive of Datastor, said: “Access to Westcon’s global best practices in value added distribution gives Datastor greater ability to grow our market share and to make alliances with new technology vendors.”