AFTER two years of boosting profits by selling land, chemicals maker AECI reported a 48% dive to R2.93 in headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months to end-June.If the R294m profit it made from selling land in Somerset West in the matching period was excluded, headline earnings per share rose by 15%, AECI said in its interim results on Tuesday morning.All land surplus to AECI’s operational requirements and available for redevelopment was disposed of in the previous two financial years, the company said.Despite the drop in earnings per share (EPS), AECI raised its interim dividend to R1.35, an 8% increase on the matching period’s R1.25.Some of the cash it gained by selling land was used to repurchase shares. It spent R38.5m buying back 442,212 shares during the reporting period, the company said in its statement.The group grew revenue by 5% to R9.1bn. Its biggest division, speciality chemicals, grew revenue 13.4% to R4.98bn while its explosives division grew revenue 5% to ...
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