It`s not often these days that a listed technology company has a piece of happy news to report to the market. So Altech outdid itself last month when the group announced it had found good use for half of its enviable cash pile, together with predictably solid results for the year ended February 2003.

The acquisition of NamITech will boost the turnover of Altech`s IT group to more than R1 billion and is expected to more than double that division`s operating income in the next financial year, says Altech CEO Craig Venter. In the year to February, IT accounted for only sevn percent of the group`s R4 billion turnover and 8.2 percent of its R406.8 million operating income.