Bidvest profit up but lags expectations

Johannesburg - The Bidvest Group [JSE:BVT] reported an 11% rise in annual profit on profit on Monday, helped partly by favourable currency swings.

Bidvest, a conglomerate spanning auto show rooms, shipping and catering, said headline earnings per share totalled 1 723 cents in year to end-June.

The group said its profit rise in the year to June 30 was partly attributable to favourable currency swings and acquisitions at home, where underlying demand was sluggish.
 
Diluted headline earnings per share (EPS), which strips out certain one-off items and is the most widely watched profit measure in South Africa totalled 1 723 cents.

That was a touch below a 1 751 cent estimate in a Reuters poll of nine analysts.

Bidvest is largely insulated from weak demand at home thanks to its extensive operations in Europe and Asia, where it makes about half of its sales.

Group sales increased 19.7% to R183.6bn, with the rand's weakness serving to boost returns from sales made in foreign currencies.

Bidvest also said it has not made a decision on whether to take control of struggling local drugmaker Adcock Ingram.

Citing a document from the Competition Tribunal, Reuters reported last month that Bidvest intended to increase its stake in Adcock to more than 50%.
 
"Given uncertainty around current trading performance, Bidvest continues to evaluate its position and has not determined whether to take steps to achieve control," Joffe said.
 
Adcock, in which Bidvest owns about a third, reported a hefty nine-month loss last week after writing down everything from drug inventory, factories and trademarks to businesses in Ghana and India.