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BLUE LABEL INTEGRATED ANNUAL REPORT 2016
24
Chairman’s report
Dear stakeholders
Blue Label Telecoms continues to
deliver on its vision of being a leading
distributor of secure fintech products
and services within emerging markets.
The Group remains true to its mission
of distributing products and services
to the middle and lower tiers of the
world’s economic pyramid. Fifteen
years after the co-founders and Joint
CEOs Brett Levy and Mark Levy
envisioned the commercialisation of
prepaid airtime, the Blue Label
strategy endures. It focuses on
diversifying its range of products and
services, while expanding its
distribution footprint through organic
growth in South Africa, India and
Mexico.
The Blue Label
strategy endures
“Blue Label’s highly
cash generative model
for distributing virtual
goods and services,
creates unique
integration
opportunities, which
the Group continues to
develop.”
Larry Nestadt
Chairman
Products and services are delivered by
sophisticated proprietary technology,
through a vast network of point of
sale devices. The range of
merchandise distributed embraces
prepaid airtime, prepaid electricity,
ticketing and financial and value-
added services. Recent additions to
the bouquet of its offerings include
hardware devices, handsets, low cost
smartphones and tablets earmarked
for the retail channel.
This year, the core South African
Distribution segment delivered 19%
growth in revenue, achieved mainly
organically through increased sales
and underpinned by the Group’s
ever-expanding distribution channels.
On the international front, the share
of losses in Blue Label Mexico
declined by 28% from R89 million to
R63 million. The share of losses of
R27.7 million from Oxigen Services
India was congruent with significant
expenditure incurred on the expansion
of its mobile wallet subscriber base,
which presently touch some
25 million wallets.
Group earnings gained further
momentum, resulting in headline
earnings increasing by 22% to
R668 million. This equated to an
increase in headline earnings per
share from 82.26 cents to
100.35 cents, net of the negative
contributions by Blue Label Mexico