South African tech company set to shoot the lights out

iOCO, formerly known as EOH, is set to report a significant financial turnaround for its 2025 financial year, following years of struggles.

On Tuesday, 2 September, iOCO informed shareholders that it expects a very strong financial rebound in its results for the year ended 31 July 2025.

The company’s EBITDA is expected to grow by 60% to 70%, reaching between R490 million and R525 million.

Its operating profit is expected to shoot up by between 260% and 285% to between R395 million and R420 million.

iOCO’s headline earnings per share (HEPS) are expected to range between 35 cents and 45 cents, compared to the headline loss per share of 0.21 cents it reported in the 2024 financial year.

Earnings per share (EPS) are expected to range between 35 and 45 cents, compared to the loss per share of 10 cents for 2024.

The company is also expected to report a continued strengthening of its balance sheet, with net debt to EBITDA improving from 2.7x to below 1x.

“The strategic reset started just over a year ago when the new leadership team put in place a 3-step transformational plan with a core focus to drive iOCOs’ efficient operating model, business autonomy, resource and capital allocation,” the company’s leadership team said.

“The early gains from our transformation are beginning to show, reaffirming our ambition to position IOCO as a premier technology partner in South Africa, the Middle East, and the UK.” 

“Our FY25 results show good momentum across the group as the strategy takes hold and is embraced by the dedicated 4,500 IOCO employees.” 

iOCO’s full-year results are expected to be released on 28 October 2025.

These strong results come after years of struggles at iOCO, whose links to state capture saw trust in the company dwindle, with its share price showing this decline.

However, the company’s turnaround efforts are now taking root and resonating with shareholders, with its share price up 82% in the year to date.

From EOH to iOCO

Over the past decade, investors in iOCO have experienced significant pain, with its share price plummeting by 99% between 2014 and 2024.

Before this, EOH was a hugely successful technology company and investor darling. 

The company’s revenue increased consistently from 2001 to 2017, from R59 million to R15 billion. Its share price boomed as investors wanted a piece of the company. 

However, in 2017, media reports began to circulate that called into question some contracts between EOH and several government departments.

Several bids for tenders with government departments were rigged, customers and suppliers were defrauded, and there was a significant amount of petty corruption. 

EOH executive Jehan Mackay was implicated in the bribery scandal to obtain government contracts between 2015 and 2016.

In 2020, EOH gave testimony to the Zondo Commission on its involvement in government corruption and state capture.

As a result, EOH’s CEO resigned and was replaced by Stephen van Coller, who was tasked with saving the company.

However, the company’s debt burden weighed heavily on its operations and became a growing concern as some lenders, spooked by the corruption allegations, were asking questions about whether EOH would be able to repay its loans.

Van Coller began firing employees implicated in financial maleficence and renegotiated problematic contracts.

He also testified at the Zondo Commission, sued former executives for R6.4 billion, and laid criminal charges against employees implicated in corruption. This cost the company a lot of money and resources.

Van Coller also tapped shareholders for additional capital to reduce debt and slashed costs. He also sold many of the company’s best-performing assets.

After Van Coller, EOH experienced some instability at the C-Suite level until, in May 2024, EOH revealed in a SENS announcement that certain shareholders had approached it regarding a succession plan for the company’s board.

This marked a turning point for the company’s share price, with activist shareholders snapping up shares to increase their influence over the company. 

In the meantime, interim CEO Marius de la Rey’s efforts to stabilise the company and implement further cost-cutting measures were bearing fruit. Now, the company is led by co-CEOs Rhys Summerton and Dennis Venter.

The company announced in December 2024 that it would change its name to iOCO, a vital step in shifting the public perception of the company.