The In Business Today section is reserved for relevant company announcements and releases. Companies are not entitled to have their announcements published in this section, but from time to time, these may be selected by Moneyweb for publication in the interest of the Moneyweb Community of readers.
The copy has not been generated by Moneyweb nor should be attributed to Moneyweb. Nor has the information contained therein been verified by Moneyweb journalists.

After being acquired by South African AltX-listed ISP telecommunications company and ISP, DataPro, for R45 million just under one year ago, consumer-focused ISP, @lantic Internet Services, has announced that it has grown its customer base by a further 5000. This takes the company's total customer base to more than 40 000 subscribers.

Neil Meyer, MD at @lantic, which now operates autonomously as a DataPro-owned subsidiary, said, “the company’s previous average year on year growth fluctuated at around 10% per year, but we have succeeded in growing our base by more than 14 % over the last 11 months".

When asked about the major contributors to @lantic’s accelerated growth, Meyer replied “we have aggressively pursued the growing demand for ADSL and wireless access solutions. This combined with our incorporation into the DataPro Group has given us the extra stature and clout to aggressively grow our business, profit and our customer numbers. A 35% growth in revenue is a very impressive growth figure and, of course, the financial spin-offs impact directly on our bottom-line."

@lantic is a franchise-driven business and regarded as the largest consumer-focused ISP in the country. It operates with more than 190 franchises scattered throughout SA - with many being located in small towns and cities - and boasts a strong dealer network of more than 900.

The company generated annuity revenue of R3.2 million per month and after tax earnings of R2.6 million for the year ended February 2005. "@lantic is a sizeable revenue spinner for DataPro. I think we, are proving that the R45 million price tag paid for us was not a high one. It was a good buy for DataPro and the synergies we expected have certainly come to the fore."