Our opinion on the current state of AYOAYO is a black-owned technology company spun out of AEEI, which still holds a 49.4% stake in the business. The company has faced significant controversy, particularly surrounding a massive R4.3 billion investment by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC). This investment has been the subject of legal action, which was finally settled on 31st March 2023, with AYO agreeing to pay the PIC R619 million. The settlement has left many questioning the financial integrity of the deal, with allegations that PIC pensioners lost billions of rands.
AYO shares listed at R43 but dropped dramatically, reaching a low of 105c. The share has since recovered slightly and is currently trading around 305c after its latest results. However, trading volumes remain extremely thin, with many days seeing no activity at all. The company employs approximately 1,400 people, and a significant portion of its income appears to come from interest on the remaining PIC funds.
Concerns about AYO’s governance and financial reporting have persisted for years. Former financial director Siphiwe Nodwele testified before the Mpati Commission that the company is likely only worth R700 million. Former CFO Naahied Gamieldien also admitted to adjusting margins to artificially inflate profits, resulting in the company’s profit doubling. These admissions, along with other governance issues, have cast doubt on the company’s reported financials.
In October 2019, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) raided the offices of Iqbal Survé, who is associated with AYO, as part of an ongoing investigation. In addition, FNB closed AYO's bank accounts due to reputational risks. While AYO announced on 30th April 2021 that it had put in place "alternative third-party solutions" to enable continued trading, these actions have not alleviated investor concerns.
On 1st June 2021, British Telecom (BT) severed ties with Sekunjalo, citing "misrepresentation of facts" presented to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance. Further governance lapses were highlighted on 10th February 2022, when the JSE barred two AYO directors from serving as directors of listed companies for five years due to their failure to ensure accurate financial reporting. On 22nd December 2022, the JSE publicly censured AYO for engaging in related-party transactions without complying with listing requirements.
In its results for the year to 31st August 2024, AYO reported revenue down by 17% and a headline loss per share of 71.81c, an improvement from the previous year’s loss of 176.46c per share. Despite these figures, trust in the company’s reporting remains low, and we cannot recommend the share to private investors.
On 6th September 2023, the JSE publicly censured AYO director Khalid Abdulla for breaching listing requirements and failing to fulfill his fiduciary duties. He was fined R2 million, while AYO was fined R6.5 million. On 14th June 2024, AYO announced the appointment of Dr. N.A. Ramatlhodi as Chairperson.
Most recently, on 24th January 2025, AYO disclosed that a shareholder with a 0.13% stake in the company had filed a court application for its liquidation. AYO is opposing this application, further adding to the company's challenges.
Given its history of governance failures, legal controversies, and unreliable reporting, we strongly advise private investors to avoid this share. The ongoing uncertainties, legal battles, and reputational risks make it a highly speculative and potentially dangerous investment.
AYO trade ideas
Our opinion on the current state of AYOAYO is a black-owned technology company that was spun out of AEEI and in which AEEI still holds 49.4%. There were suspicious circumstances with a massive R4.3bn investment by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which has been the subject of a court action by the PIC and finally settled on 31st March 2023, with AYO paying the PIC R619m. In effect, the PIC pensioners appear to have been fleeced out of billions of rands.
Ayo shares listed at R43, fell to as low as 105c, but are now at around 305c after their latest results. Volumes traded are very thin, with many days where it does not trade at all. The company has 1400 employees. What income it got appeared to be from interest on the remainder of the PIC loan.
We find this share difficult to assess and consider it potentially dangerous, especially after the testimony from the former financial director, Siphiwe Nodwele, before the Mpati Commission, that the company is probably only worth R700m and the testimony of Naahied Gamieldien, previously the CFO, who said she had to "...adjust margins to increase the company's profit." - which resulted in the profit doubling.
In October 2019, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) conducted a raid on Surve's offices as part of an ongoing investigation. FNB has closed Ayo's bank accounts at Ayo Technology Solutions citing reputational risk. Ayo is opposing this in a court action and, in an announcement on 30th April 2021, claims to have put in place "alternative third party solutions" to enable the company to continue trading.
We would advise investors to stay well clear of this share until the uncertainties surrounding the Mpati commission can be resolved. On 1st June 2021, British Telecom (BT) announced that it was severing ties with Sekunjalo due to "misrepresentation of facts" before the standing committee on finance in parliament. On 10th February 2022, the JSE announced that two Ayo directors had been barred from being a director of a listed company for five years because of failing to carry out their oversight duties, leading to incorrect, false, or misleading financial statements. On 22nd December 2022, the JSE published a censure of Ayo because of their involvement in related party transactions without complying with the JSE rules on such transactions.
On 24th March 2023, the company announced that it had reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), but it seems unlikely that the PIC will recover the R4.3bn which it advanced to Ayo. In its results for the six months to 29th February 2024, the company reported revenue up by 0.19% and a headline loss per share of 33.12c compared with a loss of 79.13c in the previous period.
We cannot recommend this share to private investors because we do not trust its reporting. On 6th September 2023, the JSE publicly censured a director of Ayo, Khalid Abdulla, for breaching the listing requirements and failing to exercise his fiduciary duties. He was fined R2m and Ayo was fined R6.5m. On 14th June 2024, the company announced that Dr. NA Ramatlhodi would become Chairperson of AYO with immediate effect.
Our opinion on the current state of AYOAYO is a black-owned technology company that was spun out of AEEI, which still holds a 49.4% stake. The company has been mired in controversy, notably due to a massive R4.3 billion investment by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which led to a court action by the PIC. This was finally settled on 31st March 2023, with AYO paying the PIC R619 million. Essentially, PIC pensioners appear to have lost billions of rands. AYO shares listed at R43, fell to as low as 105c, but are now around 305c after their latest results. Volumes traded are very thin, with many days where it does not trade at all. The company has 1,400 employees. Its income appeared to come from interest on the remainder of the PIC loan.
This share is difficult to assess and potentially dangerous, especially after the testimony from the former financial director, Siphiwe Nodwele, before the Mpati Commission, that the company is probably only worth R700 million, and the testimony of Naahied Gamieldien, previously the CFO, who said she had to "...adjust margins to increase the company's profit," which resulted in the profit doubling. In October 2019, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) conducted a raid on Survé's offices as part of an ongoing investigation. FNB has closed AYO's bank accounts, citing reputational risk. AYO is opposing this in a court action and, in an announcement on 30th April 2021, claims to have put in place "alternative third-party solutions" to enable the company to continue trading.
We advise investors to stay well clear of this share until the uncertainties surrounding the Mpati commission can be resolved. On 1st June 2021, British Telecom (BT) announced that it was severing ties with Sekunjalo due to "misrepresentation of facts" before the standing committee on finance in parliament. On 10th February 2022, the JSE announced that two AYO directors had been barred from being directors of a listed company for five years due to failing to carry out their oversight duties, leading to incorrect, false, or misleading financial statements. On 22nd December 2022, the JSE published a censure of AYO for their involvement in related party transactions without complying with the JSE rules on such transactions. On 24th March 2023, the company announced that it had reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with the PIC, but it seems unlikely that the PIC will recover the R4.3 billion which it advanced to AYO.
In its results for the six months to 29th February 2024, the company reported revenue up by 0.19% and a headline loss per share of 33.12c compared with a loss of 79.13c in the previous period. We cannot recommend this share to private investors because we do not trust its reporting. On 6th September 2023, the JSE publicly censured a director of AYO, Khalid Abdulla, for breaching the listing requirements and failing to exercise his fiduciary duties. He was fined R2 million, and AYO was fined R6.5 million.
Our opinion on the current state of AYOAYO is a black-owned technology company that was spun out of AEEI, which still holds 49.4% of the company. There were suspicious circumstances surrounding a massive R4.3bn investment by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which has been the subject of a court action by the PIC. This was finally settled on 31st March 2023, with AYO paying the PIC R619m. In effect, PIC pensioners appear to have been fleeced out of billions of rands. Ayo shares listed at R43, fell to as low as 105c, and are now around 305c after their latest results. Volumes traded are very thin, with many days where it does not trade at all. The company has 1,400 employees. What income it received appeared to be from interest on the remainder of the PIC loan.
Assessing this share is difficult, and it is considered potentially dangerous, especially after testimony from the former financial director, Siphiwe Nodwele, before the Mpati Commission, that the company is probably only worth R700m. Additionally, Naahied Gamieldien, previously the CFO, testified that she had to "...adjust margins to increase the company's profit," resulting in the profit doubling. In October 2019, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) conducted a raid on Surve's offices as part of an ongoing investigation. FNB has closed Ayo's bank accounts at Ayo Technology Solutions, citing reputational risk. Ayo is opposing this in a court action and, in an announcement on 30th April 2021, claims to have put in place "alternative third-party solutions" to enable the company to continue trading.
Investors are advised to stay well clear of this share until the uncertainties surrounding the Mpati Commission can be resolved. On 1st June 2021, British Telecom (BT) announced that it was severing ties with Sekunjalo due to "misrepresentation of facts" before the standing committee on finance in parliament. On 10th February 2022, the JSE announced that two Ayo directors had been barred from being directors of a listed company for five years because of failing to carry out their oversight duties, leading to incorrect, false, or misleading financial statements. On 22nd December 2022, the JSE published a censure of Ayo because of their involvement in related-party transactions without complying with the JSE rules on such transactions.
On 24th March 2023, the company announced that it had reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with the PIC, but it seems unlikely that the PIC will recover the R4.3bn it advanced to Ayo. In its results for the year to 31st August 2023, the company reported revenue up 28% and a headline loss per share of 176.46c compared with a loss of 60.25c in the previous year. The company said, "The Group’s gross profit percentage decreased from 22% in the prior year to 16% in the current year due to lower margins achieved in the managed services divisions as a result of fewer service contracts and more procurement of equipment distribution contracts in the public sector."
In a trading statement for six months to 29th February 2024, the company estimated that it would make a headline loss of between 25.21c and 41.03c compared with a loss of 79.13c in the previous period. On 6th September 2023, the JSE publicly censured a director of Ayo, Khalid Abdulla, for breaching the listing requirements and failing to exercise his fiduciary duties. He was fined R2m, and Ayo was fined R6.5m.
Given these circumstances, we cannot recommend this share to private investors due to concerns about the company's financial reporting and the overall uncertainty surrounding its operations and governance.
Our opinion on the current state of AYOAYO is a black-owned technology company that was spun out of AEEI and in which AEEI still holds 49,4%. There were suspicious circumstances with a massive R4,3bn investment by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) which has been the subject of a court action by the PIC and finally settled on 31st March 2023 with the AYO paying the PIC R619m.In effect the PIC pensioners appear to have been fleeced out of billions of rands. Ayo shares listed at R43, fell to as low as 105c, but is now at around 305c after their latest results. Volumes traded are very thin, with many days where it does not trade at all. The company has 1400 employees. What income it got appeared to be from interest on the remainder of the PIC loan. We find this share difficult to assess and consider it potentially dangerous, especially after the testimony from the former financial director, Siphiwe Nodwele, before the Mpati Commission, that the company is probably only worth R700m and the testimony of Naahied Gamieldien, previously the CFO, who said she had to "...adjust margins to increase the company's profit" - which resulted in the profit doubling. In October 2019, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) conducted a raid on Surve's offices as part of an on-going investigation. FNB has closed Ayo's bank accounts at Ayo Technology Solutions siting reputational risk. Ayo is opposing this in a court action and, in an announcement on 30th April 2021, claims to have put in place "alternative third party solutions" to enable the company to continue trading. We would advise investors to stay well clear of this share until the uncertainties surrounding the Mpati commission can be resolved. On 1st June 2021 British Telecom (BT) announced that it was severing ties with Sekunjalo due to " misrepresentation of facts" before the standing committee on finance in parliament. On 10th February 2022 the JSE announced that two Ayo directors had been barred from being a director of a listed company for five years because of failing to carry out their oversight duties leading to incorrect, false, or misleading financial statements. On 22nd December 2022, the JSE published a censure of Ayo because of their involvement in related party transactions without comply with the JSE rules on such transactions. On 24th March 2023 the company announced that it had reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), but it seems unlikely that the PIC will recover the R4,3bn which it advanced to Ayo. In its results for the year to 31st August 2023 the company reported revenue up 28% and a headline loss per share of 176,46c compared with a loss of 60,25c in the previous year. The company said, "The Group’s gross profit percentage decreased from 22% in the prior year to 16% in the current year due to lower margins achieved in the managed services divisions as result of less service contracts and more procurement of equipment distribution contracts in the public sector". We cannot recommend this share to private investors because we do not trust its reporting. On 6th September 2023 the JSE publicly censured a director of Ayo, Khalid Abdulla, for breaching the listing requirements and failing to exercise his fiduciary duties. He was fined R2m and Ayo was fined R6.5m.