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Johannesburg - Services, trading and distribution company Bidvest reported on Monday that its diluted headline earnings per share for the half year ended December 31 2008 had dropped 7.5% to 450.4c.
Its distribution per share was down 13.6% to 190c for the period.
Trading profit, however, was reported to have lifted 6.4% to R2.615bn from a previous R2.458bn in the same period a year ago.
The company called its trading results "solid". It said that earnings reflect a number of good contributions, notably from Bidserv, Bidvest Australasia and the South African food businesses.
"Areas of underperformance reside principally in 3663 First for Foodservice in the United Kingdom and Bid Auto," it said.
"Our balance sheet remains strong and is appropriately capitalised. Key focus areas remain the delivery of adequate returns on recent infrastructure investments in the medium term and the aggressive management of costs and working capital as the threat of deflation looms," said the company.
However, the company says it will continue to seek out "strategic acquisition opportunities".
It adds: "The challenging economic conditions are set to continue as the realities of the fallout from the global financial crisis takes effect.
"The group remains committed to its decentralised business model as the best foil to the risks associated with the worldwide economic climate. Our divisions continue to optimise opportunities across various geographies and industries while remaining focussed on the basic deliverables."
The company says that the "World Cup effect" is gaining momentum in South Africa as we move closer to 2010.
"Several opportunities have already been contracted and significant effort continues to be directed at achieving direct gains."
The economies of the UK and to a lesser extent Europe, however, were reported to have slowed considerably.
"The UK businesses have taken some hard decisions and we are optimistic the rationalisation programme undertaken will yield improved results in the medium term," said Bidvest.
In Asia Pacific, the company says it remains confident its Australian and New Zealand businesses are well placed to gain further market share and entrench their leading market positions.
"Our established bases in Hong Kong and Singapore continue to evolve and remain the springboard to growth in other geographies in the region. Bid Auto's markets should benefit from a falling interest rate environment and the increase in new car prices will improve the returns and demand in the used vehicle market," concluded the company.
- I-Net Bridge