Following the recent Mobile Today article, which noted our strong 2012 performance and recent board changes, comes further confirmation of the healthy state of the business from James Goodman, chief analyst for asset management firm Investec.

In a recent report on Alternative, Investec cites Alternative's "excellent record of cash generation, dividend progression and earnings growth" among our strengths, and notes that the "recent board strengthening and an intention to deploy cash have set the scene for the next strategic leg to the story".

The report goes on to say that our enterprise-focused data business and the newly launched Synapse already differentiate us from the competition, and recommends Alternative as a very solid investment opportunity.

Summarising the strengths that should appeal to would-be investors, the Investec report says "most encouraging is the focus on cash generation and payment of a sustainable, progressive dividend, now at ten times its 2005 level".

Our strategy is also highlighted, explaining that "through orienting the business towards data networks, Alterative is benefiting from the trend to IP telephony whilst facilitating a more integrated product set", and recognises that our investment in Synapse is "resulting in higher cross-sell and overall market share as its features set the company apart from peer offerings".

The report continues by identifying our strong net cash position and renewed management focus, and predicting that "increased data exposure will further strengthen [our] strategic positioning while expanding organic growth opportunities".

It concludes that "outstanding cash generation is key to [the] investment case" and that our "stock offers long-term, data-led growth, is lower risk than peers and is well supported through the dividend yield".

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