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Johannesburg - Diversified investment group Remgro [JSE:REM] lifted diluted headline earnings per share by 52.8% from 270.7 cents to 413.5 cents for the six months ended September.
The solid performance delivered by Remgro is largely attributable to the higher earnings reported by FirstRand [JSE:FSR] , RMB Holdings [JSE:RMH] , Total South Africa, Kagiso Trust Investments and the inclusion of VenFin.
Remgro CEO Thys Visser said its investments weathered the recession well.
"The intrinsic value increased by 3.5% over the interim period to R125.95 per share, compared to the 2.5% increase in the JSE All Share index," he said.
For the six months ended 30 September 2010, headline earnings increased by 70% from R1.298bn to R2.207bn (R92m is attributable to the inclusion of VenFin), while headline earnings per share increased by 56.3% from 275.3 cents to 430.2 cents.
An interim dividend of 101 cents per share has been declared for this period, which equates to a 20.2% increase from the interim dividend of 84 cents per share paid in the previous period.
Cash at the centre increased by R420m to R5.082bn mainly as a result of the sale of Remgro's Nampak shares, off-set by further investments in Medi-Clinic, Business Partners, Kagiso Infrastructure Empowerment Fund, Dark Fibre Africa and Capevin Holdings.
"We are pleased with the performance of the Group's underlying investments. As demonstrated this year, we have increased our interest in those investments we believe could add value to our investment portfolio and we have exited investments we believed did not meet the criteria of our investment strategy. We continuously assess new investment opportunities to ensure shareholder value growth;" said Visser.
The combined contribution of FirstRand and RMBH to Remgro's headline earnings from financial services amounted to R930m from R517m.
The increase of 79.9% can be attributed mainly to a significant reduction in bad debts and improved profitability in both RMB
and Wesbank.
The contribution of the industrial interests to headline earnings increased by 49.2% to R1.110bn from R744m. Kagiso Trust Investment's (KTI) contribution to headline earnings amounted to R197m (2009: R57m), favourably impacted by fair value
adjustments relating to its shareholdings in Metropolitan Holdings Limited and Adcock Ingram Holdings Limited.
Total South Africa's contribution to headline earnings amounted to R97m (2009: R15m loss), and its improved performance is mainly due to favourable stock revaluations and savings in operating costs.
Distell's contribution to Remgro's headline earnings, which includes the investments in Capevin Holdings and Capevin Investments, amounted to R105m (2009: R95m).
