Bidvest looks beyond growth in South Africa
The diversified industrial group is pleased with its performance in the interim period, but tough domestic conditions will increase global drive
Bidvest pushed through SA’s dire economic conditions in the six months to December 2017, while acknowledging that it needed more markets abroad. The diversified industrial group grew trading profit 12% to R3.1bn, generating R1.4bn more cash through operations than in the same period in 2016. Revenue increased 10.7% to R40bn, with profit attributable to shareholders growing 13.4% to R1.9bn. "In the context of the period it was a very nice result," CEO Lindsay Ralphs said on Monday. The company had invested R4.9bn in net acquisitions, capital expenditure and South African infrastructure projects. The interim dividend of 255c per share was up 12.3%. "It was a good performance by [the South African] trading divisions with freight being the real standout," Avior Capital Markets analyst Mark Hodgson said on Monday. He said the all of the group’s divisions were well positioned to benefit from an "uptick" in growth in SA. But the benefits derived from recent changes in the group would take ...
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