Johannesburg - Investment group Brait [JSE:BAT] on Wednesday
said normalised headline earnings per share rose 189% to R4.33 in the year to
March‚ while and headline earnings per share were up 249% to R5.45.
Its results were boosted by growth in the performance of its
investments in sectors such as food and retail.
The JSE-listed group‚ which has ditched its private equity
model‚ said its net asset value was up 25% to R20.59.
Brait also said it was proposing a final dividend
distribution of 20.59c‚ equivalent to 1% of its net asset value per share by
March this year.
The group added it was fully funded to make further
investments‚ with available cash of R1bn and R527m available for drawdown from
long-term borrowings of R2.2bn.
In March‚ Brait said it was investing £80m to buy a 19%
stake of Iceland Food‚ the frozen-food group founded by British entrepreneur
Malcolm Walker.
The investment was part of a deal in which the management of
Iceland‚ a British entrepreneur and a retailer from the Middle East were
investing in Iceland Food.