Vox keeps finger on the pulse
VOX Telecoms stands out in the hi-tech industry for its exceptional growth, with a 231% leap in revenue for its latest interim period.
Much of that was achieved through acquisitions, with Vox making endless takeovers in the past two years.
That’s a policy most companies eschew, preferring to limit themselves to one or two rather than a constant flow. Making numerous deals is costly , but a greater concern is the time and effort required to integrate them effectively.
Yet Vox seems to conduct the process with aplomb. Revenue growth was surpassed by a net profit growth of 271%, and headline earnings per share rose 121% despite more shares being issued to pay for acquisitions.
Chairman Tony van Marken says acquisitions must boost earnings even after shares are issued to clinch the deal. He is not afraid to change tack if a plan begins to look less successful than expected.
A year ago Vox was contemplating acquisitions in neighbouring countries because it believed prices for what could be bought locally were high.
Now it is having another look on home turf, since there is still more growth to win locally and foreign acquisitions may be more complex.
Such flexibility is to be applauded in the rapidly changing telecoms sector.
Equally reassuring are efforts to grow organically, by refining and augmenting existing products and services. Vox is pumping cash into expanding and improving its network and data centres, and is designing consumer products to broaden its customer base.
That reinvestment has pared its net profit margin to 5%. It will remain at that level while further investments are made to future-proof Vox, by predicting which services customers will require and getting ready to offer them.
Vox has a lot on its hands but those hands seem to be guiding everything in the right direction.
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