ARB keeps firm hand on cash management
The electrical wholesaler expects Eskom-related electrification projects next year
ARB Holdings says it has maintained revenue at R2.5bn in the year to June 2017, growing after-tax profit 7% to R171m while managing cash resources tightly in a cash-strapped market. Headline earnings per share crept up 3.6% amid a poor economy that has squeezed the group’s main electrical business and also consumers of its retail lighting products. But it remains ungeared, with R307m in cash. "In the current economy, it’s very difficult to shoot the lights out," CEO Billy Neasham said on Friday. Electrical division revenue was held back by limited government infrastructure spend in the year and the fall in mining and manufacturing. "This is where a lot of pressure has come in the last year," Neasham said, also referring to municipal by-elections in February, which contributed to a decline in local government infrastructure spending. The retail lighting division was affected negatively, especially in the second half of the financial year when the economy entered recession. The group ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.