Our operating environment

The Group delivered a solid full-year result as global demand continues for its technology solutions and services. The Group managed to successfully capture growth opportunities across many markets to deliver improved quality of earnings.

From an operational perspective, Westcon International continued to deliver an excellent financial performance throughout FY24. Logicalis International also performed well with a strong second half, which included greater net revenue reported software sales. Logicalis Latin America faced difficult market conditions, especially in Argentina and Brazil, which adversely affected its performance in the second half of FY24.

Westcon International's hardware and software backlog has reduced as supply chain constraints have eased. Logicalis International also saw a significant reduction in product backlog over the last 12 months primarily as a result of improving supplier lead times.

The Group continues to see good demand for its technology solutions and services worldwide with subsidiaries well-positioned to service customers in their respective markets.

Despite uncertain political and economic challenges in many parts of the world, all the Group's divisions are expected to deliver improved financial performance in FY25 and benefit from strong technology fundamentals.

The adoption of Artificial Intelligence should lead to a new cycle of PC and networking refresh.

The Group continues to manage its businesses efficiently and mitigate the effects of high interest rates through effective working capital management and improving supply chains.

Fluctuating exchange rates

Exchange rate volatility has a big impact on Datatec, especially in emerging markets. We are exposed to the effects of negative currency fluctuations in Latin America and South Africa in particular. Exchange rate fluctuations affect all our divisions. Logicalis Latin America was significantly impacted by the sharp currency depreciation in Argentina over the financial year.

Global macroeconomic uncertainty

Over the short term, macroeconomic conditions are expected to remain uncertain, however, Datatec has proved resilient against several macroeconomic risks that persist.