Johannesburg - Metair Investments
[JSE:MTA]
which supplies vehicle manufacturers with components‚ on Friday
posted a 12% rise in headline earnings per share to 143 cents in the
six months ended June 2012‚ from the previous comparable period.
Revenue was up 26% to R2.589bn‚ while
gross profit increased by 25% to R585m. Operating profit was up
R325.4m‚ from R307.7m previously.
Theo Loock‚ Metair CEO‚ said: “The
group has produced a satisfactory set of financial results for the
half-year. During the period we continued to deliver on our stated
strategy and in March we acquired the Romanian battery manufacturer
Rombat which forms part of the group’s start/stop battery
development and commercialisation programme.”
Loock said the company was entering a
critical phase‚ as it targeted the full integration of Rombat into
the group and competed for major business relating to future vehicle
launches in SA.
“These planned vehicle launches will
lay the foundation for the local vehicle production volumes under the
new automotive production and development programme that takes effect
from January 2013. The new programme will operate from 2013 to 2020.”
He said a number of local vehicle
manufacturers were currently studying the feasibility of increasing
their local production volumes over the next two years. “Although
Metair’s performance is dependent on the successful execution of
its strategy and other factors such as‚ original equipment volumes
and the exchange rate‚ we expect performance for the full year to
be satisfactory‚” said Loock.
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