Media Coverage
Lesaka starts 2026 year strongly with increases in all three main units
06 Nov 2025
By Business Day | Mudiwa Gavaza
Lesaka Technologies has started its 2026 financial year on a strong note, meeting its guidance as the group reported increases in all three of its main divisions.
The fintech group reported revenue of $171.5m (R3bn), up 10%, for the quarter ended September. Group adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) was up 61% at R270.6m, achieving the guidance provided.
Adjusted earnings per share increased 97% to R1.07. The JSE- and Nasdaq-listed company has until recently consisted of two divisions — a merchant unit and a consumer segment. The consumer unit focuses on products such as unsecured credit, transactional banking, microinsurance and value-added services through the EasyPay platform. Following the recent acquisition of prepaid electricity submetering and payments business, Recharger, the group now has a third division, enterprise.
The merchant unit, the group’s largest business, reported revenue of R2.2bn and segment adjusted ebitda of R162.1m, up 20%. The consumer segment’s adjusted ebitda grew by 90% to R149.7m, while the enterprise division’s ebitda rose 241% to R22.4m. The group reaffirmed its guidance, expecting to report net revenue of between R6.4bn and R6.9bn and group adjusted ebitda of between R1.25bn and R1.45bn. Adjusted earnings per share is expected to be at least R4.60, which would imply a year-on-year growth greater than 100%. The 2026 full-year guidance excludes the effects of the Bank Zero acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval by the Prudential Authority and the SA Reserve Bank, and other customary closing conditions.
Lesaka announced the acquisition of Bank Zero for R1.1bn in June and expects opportunities to flow from the integration. The group has also made a number of changes to its executive ranks, appointing former Uber and Starlink executive Kagiso Khaole as CEO of the merchant division, together with Roland Naidoo, who left MultiChoice to become COO of the unit.
At group level, Akash Dowra has been appointed chief strategy officer, joining from Deloitte, where he was managing partner of Deloitte Africa’s strategy and transactions advisory practice.