| Tue 5 Sep 2023, 16:00 | | AYO TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS LIMITED - Voluntary Shareholder Announcement with regards to Sizwe Africa IT Group. |
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Voluntary Shareholder Announcement with regards to Sizwe Africa IT Group.
AYO TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
Registration number: 1996/014461/06
JSE share code: AYO
ISIN: ZAE000252441
(“AYO” or “AYO Group”)
VOLUNTARY SHAREHOLDER ANNOUNCEMENT
In accordance with paragraph 3.4(a) of the JSE Limited Listings Requirements, the board of directors of
AYO (“Board” or “Directors”) hereby advises stakeholders of a matter that could potentially be price
sensitive. The matter concerns certain irregular expenditure during the 2023 financial year ended
31 August 2023, which occurred in Sizwe Africa IT Group Proprietary Limited (“Sizwe”), a 55% owned
subsidiary of AYO forming part of the managed services segment of the AYO Group, which has recently
come to light.
AYO believes in upholding the highest standards of transparency, accountability, and adherence to
regulatory compliance, and it is with regret that we must inform stakeholders of the identified
irregularities. AYO’s nominee directors are appointed in a non-executive capacity to the Sizwe board of
directors (“Sizwe Board”) and, accordingly, are not directly involved in the day-to-day operations and
business activities of Sizwe.
An internal audit revealed that certain expenditure incurred during the 2023 financial year, by certain
employees of Sizwe, did not follow due processes and procedures prescribed by the company and was
beyond the ambit of the formal authority delegated to such employees.
Such irregular expenditure will be accounted for in AYO’s results to be released for the 2023 financial
year. The effect of the aforegoing on both earnings per share and headline earnings per share is between
6.05 cents and 7.39 cents based on a weighted average number of shares in issue of 343,8 million. The
aforegoing does not necessitate AYO issuing a trading statement.
The Sizwe Board is committed to taking the necessary steps to fully investigate and address such irregular
expenditure, including reporting the matter in terms of the relevant laws and regulations. The
investigation is being conducted in collaboration with external experts to ensure an unbiased and proper
review. As a part of this process, the Sizwe employees suspected of being involved in such irregularities
have been suspended from their employment and will be subjected to the appropriate disciplinary
processes.
No AYO Directors, AYO employees or AYO representatives have been implicated in the matter.
The Directors wish to advise all stakeholders that we remain focused on our core business operations
and the value we bring to our customers, employees and stakeholders. While this incident is regrettable,
we will ensure that this matter is dealt with appropriately.
The financial information in this announcement has not been reviewed nor reported on by AYO’s external
auditors.
Cape Town
5 September 2023
Joint Sponsor
Vunani Sponsors
Joint Sponsor
Merchantec Capital
Date: 05-09-2023 04:00:00
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