Datatech has issued a trading statement, cautioning investors that its financial results will be substantially different from the previous year.
The group expects the, for the 2018 financial year, underlying earnings per share will be at least 20 percent (2.2 US cents) lower than the 110 US cents reported in the 2017 financial year.
Headline earnings per share will also be at least 20 percent (0.4 US cents) lower than the two cents reported last year. Earnings per share will be at least 20 percent (0.28 US cents) higher than the 1.4 US cents reported in 2017.
The statement said that the year over year decline in underlying earnings per share and headline earnings per share was primarily as a result of the sale of Westcon Americas to SYNNEX. This had an effect from 1 September 2017, with the earnings from Westcon Americas only being included in the FY18 earnings for a six-month period (compared to 12 months in FY17).
The year over year increase in earnings per share is as a result of the expected profit generated from the sale of Westcon Americas to SYNNEX. The company expects to release its full-year results around 17 May 2018.
