Compu-Clearing on the acquisition trail

Compu-Clearing has embarked on a concerted acquisition drive and chairman Arnold Garber is optimistic that a meaningful acquisition will be concluded in the near future. Speaking at the release of the company’s annual results in Johannesburg last week, Garber said that its acquisition policy would not be limited to companies in the same business as Compu-Clearing. “We’ll be looking at niche IT companies that provide a service rather than a product, that are cash generative and have been established for at least 15 years. We’re looking at companies like Compu- Clearing but not necessarily in the freight industry.” And while several discussions have been held, none has yet been conclusive. Reflecting on the company’s results for the year ending June 2010, despite difficult conditions, particularly during the first half, Compu- Clearing posted record results in terms of turnover, which was up 9%. “Imports have started to recover, but not dramatically, although there was a slight increase in volumes by existing customers,” Garber told FTW. Growth has however come from many new smaller companies. “The Customs Modernisation Programme has generated a lot of new business. All the changes require electronic intervention which means the need for Compu Clearing services is increasing. “We were also able to generate some revenue from new products like Trade and Track and Stash, all of which has brought additional revenue.” Significant in terms of the results, however, was the company’s contained increase in total operating costs – a mere 3% – which resulted in an operating profit for the year of 38%. “Intense efforts to rationalise technology was a big part of this,” said Garber. A significant acquisition during the year was Cargowise, one of the most widely used freight management systems in the world. While it’s headquartered in Australia, its most extensive customer base is in North America and Europe. “Compu-Clearing has entered into an agreement with CargoWise to market the product bundled with Compu Clearing to cater for SA-specific requirements,” said Garber. Also on the radar for the year ahead is BEE investment. “Many BEE investment organisations have expressed interest in us and we’re making good progress in non-equity BEE. We are however committed to achieving a good BEE rating in the near future and expect to conclude a deal sometime this year.”