Salient features

  • Trading profit grew by

    19.8% to

    R4.0 billion

  • Trading profit margin

    improved 81bps to

    9.2%

  • Operational cash

    generated up 32.7%, to

    R5.5 billion

  • Strong balance sheet

    maintained with

    1.1x net debt/EBITDA

  • ROFE up to
    24.8%

  • Acquired UK's number 1

    hygiene business, PHS, for

    GBP495 million

  • Normalised HEPS of

    610.9 cents

    per share

  • Unchanged interim

    dividend of

    282 cents

    per share


Introduction


Bidvest is a leading business-to-business services, trading and distribution group, operating through six divisions: Services, Freight, Branded Products, Commercial Products, Financial Services and Automotive. The Group owns a significant Bidvest occupied property portfolio. Bidvest strategically increased its stake in Adcock Ingram (“Adcock”) to 52.3%, resulting in it being consolidated from 1 August 2019 into Branded Products. Bidvest continues to hold non-core investments in, Comair (27.2%) and Mumbai International Airport (6.75%) (MIAL).

Highlights

Trading profit increased by 19.8% to R4.0 billion, off revenue growth of 9.2%, enhanced by the consolidation of Adcock.

During the six months to December 2019, Bidvest’s domestic operations held their own in a tough trading environment characterised by low business confidence and constrained consumer demand culminating in lower volumes. Offshore service businesses performed well. Our services businesses, comprising the Services, Freight and Financial Services divisions, grew trading profit by 6.5%.

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