Hudaco urges government to kick-start economy
The importer of automotive and industrial products says it expects the economy to worsen amid load-shedding and downsizing by large companies
Hudaco Industries, an importer of automotive, industrial and electrical products, on Friday urged the government to kick-start the economy, saying its prospects are largely dependent on how SA performs in 2020.
Load-shedding and the announcement of downsizing means the economy has probably not yet reached the bottom of its current downturn, the company said as it released its full-year results to end-November.
During the year, the group’s consumer-related products segment rose sales 2.8% to R3.6bn, though this was largely due to acquisitions made in 2018, it said.
“Unfortunately, pricing pressure meant that some business had to be done at lower margins to protect market share, which meant operating profit declined by 9.0% to R421m,” the group said.
The group grew turnover 5% to R6.7bn in its year to end-November while operating profit rose 6.9% to R701m.
The company upped its total dividend 5.3% to R6.
In morning trade on Friday Hudaco’s share price was up 3.62% to R103, having fallen a similar amount in the year to date.