PSG Konsult will list in June, but not in search of new investors

Published Apr 10, 2014

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Londiwe Buthelezi

Financial services provider PSG Konsult will make its debut on the JSE in June after 16 years as an unlisted subsidiary of the PSG Group.

PSG Konsult would have an introduction listing because it was not yet looking to raise capital. “We have sufficient capital and we can self-fund the growth that we have planned within the firm,” chief executive Francois Gouws said.

There are two type of investors for listed companies: equity investors and debt investors.

“On the equity investors side we only want to build a track record that will ensure that, should we decide to raise equity capital, we can. On the debt [investors] side, we are trying to build a track record with credit rating agencies.”

He said the credit rating agencies preferred rating the debt of listed companies.

PSG Konsult is repaying debt and Gouws said it would have none on the books by year-end.

The financial services firm restructured its business in March last year, dividing it into three divisions: wealth, asset management and insurance.

After bedding down the restructuring, PSG Konsult wanted to post at least one set of results so it could assess whether the divisions were performing as it intended.

“Now is a good time to make that assessment because we now have an independently audited set of [financial] results. The results are good. We are satisfied that those businesses have performed in the way that they should have,” Gouws said.

The PGS Group, which owns 63 percent of PSG Konsult, will continue to hold that stake because no un-issued shares would be offered. The rest of PSG Konsult’s shares are owned by current and previous staff and management.

PSG Konsult published financial results for the year to February yesterday.

Headline earnings grew by 41 percent to R244.4 million and headline earnings a share were up 30 percent to 20c.

Recurring headline earnings increased by 44 percent to R251.1m and recurring headline earnings a share grew 35 percent to 20.5c.

All three of PSG Konsult’s divisions posted earnings growth of more than 30 percent. PSG Wealth increased recurring headline earnings by 32 percent to R166.6m.

PSG Asset Management’s recurring headline earnings were up 76 percent to R54.4m and PSG Insure had R30.2m in recurring headline earnings, a 71 percent increase from the previous year.

But it was not only the robust performance observed during the year to February that underpinned the finalisation of PSG Konsult’s JSE listing plans.

“All the key subsidiaries of the PSG Group are listed. So in some respect we’ve been the exception to the rule. Jannie always says he wants the companies to build a track record, to have a strong governance process and a review by external investors,” said Gouws, referring to PSG Group chairman Jannie Mouton.

PSG Group has investments in companies such as Capitec, Curro Holdings and Zeder.

PSG Konsult declared a final dividend of 7.3c a share, which brought its total dividend to 11.3c, compared with 10.8c in the previous financial year.

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