SPECIALIST chemicals group Omnia increased its diluted headline earnings per share for the six months ended September 52% to R5.27, thanks to a surge in demand for explosives, especially from other African countries.Mining and agricultural businesses continued what has been a strong performance.Omnia on Tuesday said it had seen good sales price increases in mining explosives and fertiliser products. But the chemicals business continued its lacklustre performance, mainly because of low activity levels in the manufacturing sector.In the six months, Omnia’s profit rose 58% to R363m, while earnings per share increased by the same percentage to 546.3c per share. The group hiked the dividend 50% to 150c per share.The mining business was its star performer. Its revenue grew 46% to R2bn, while operating profit was up 79% to R335m.Speaking at the results presentation on Tuesday, Omnia MD Rod Humphris said the group was delighted with its 16.7% operating margin, which was up from the previous...
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