MIS races to year finishing line

Juniper and Check Point reseller posts one per cent rise in annual sales and profits and hints at further acquisitions

MIS banked a profit of R13.9m (£1.17m) for its financial year

A strong finish to the year enabled security reseller MIS Corporate Defence Solutions to post a small rise in revenue and profit for the 12 months to 31 July.

The Juniper and Check Point partner, which was acquired by South African distributor SecureData last year, saw annual turnover inch up one per cent to R177m (£14.9m).

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of goodwill (EBITDA) margin improved from 5.9 per cent to 9.9 per cent between the first and second half.

Director Etienne Greeff said MIS has realigned resources to focus on larger customers but stressed headcount had risen by 11 during the period.

“The Tour de France is not won on the flat but in the mountains. If you make cutbacks during the tough times it is difficult to turn around quickly when things improve,” he said.

Greeff added that SecureData would back further UK acquisitions in markets where MIS needed to bolster its presence, including network security and the finance vertical.

“We are making the transition into network security and an acquisition may accelerate that,” he explained.

Greeff said changes to MIS’s structure allowed it to improve profitability as the year went on. This included tweaking the way it engages with partner BT Global Services and folding its professional services team into its wider operations division.

MIS banked an EBITDA of R13.9m for the year – up one per cent on an annual comparison.

“Given that we didn’t have a very good first half that is a good performance,” Greeff concluded.

He also claimed this August was the strongest in MIS’s history.