Robust growth strategies reward Advtech, PSG, Standard Bank

In each of their respective fields, the three companies have a clear focus on where the best opportunities lie

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A sound strategy is key to increased growth.

(iStock)

No matter how good you are or how hard you work, the wrong strategy will lead to poor outcomes.

The strategy is set by the most senior executives in corporations, so just a handful of people make the decisions that will determine the wealth outcomes for thousands more. Naturally, this is how corporate execs try to justify their enormous earnings.

Last week, we saw a few examples on the JSE of companies that are reaping the rewards of sound strategies. Whether in the form of a full earnings release, a trading statement or a capital markets day, there are opportunities to learn about how great companies keep driving growth.

Education is a difficult business. If you're trying to be affordable for a broad audience, it starts to look more like a social enterprise and less like a traditional business.

Curro learnt this the hard way, although its original intention wasn't to go the social enterprise route. If the schools had been filled as expected, they would probably have been able to achieve Curro's dream. Alas, thanks to a combination of emigration and pressure on middle-class South Africans, things didn't work out.

At Advtech, the focus is on premium schooling. This lifts it out of the competitive bloodbath of more affordable schools, as the wealthiest consumers in South Africa aren't particularly price-sensitive when it comes to their kids. If an operating margin of 20.9% in the Schools South Africa segment impresses you (and it should), then brace yourself for the Schools Rest of Africa performance.