Bidvest gives its clearest signal yet of Comair and Adcock sale
Company prefers to deploy funds gained from selling both into activities ‘we control and run’
Bidvest has given its clearest indication yet that it plans to exit its investments in Comair and Adcock Ingram within two to three years. Stock market and profit gains in both companies were behind a R2bn swing in their mark-to-market value in the year to the end of June to a positive R1bn, CEO Lindsay Ralphs said "in hindsight it was a good thing that we were looking at the right time to exit those investments". Ralphs said Bidvest would prefer to deploy funds from selling both into "activities that we control, manage and run". Releasing full-year numbers on Monday, Bidvest grew overall trading profit 4.6%, to R6bn as continued fishing quota issues in Bidvest Namibia dented higher profit growth from its South African operations.Headline earnings per share rose 5.1%, to 1108.2c and Bidvest declared a final dividend of 264c per share. While net debt swelled by half-a-billion rand, to R5.6bn, Bidvest said debt levels were "acceptable". Still, its interest bill grew almost 15% as a re...
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