Building materials supplier Afrimat says earnings rose 29.6% in the year to end-February, thanks in part to higher iron ore prices.
Group revenue rose 24.6% to R3bn, while headline earnings per share grew 29.6% to 234.1c, the group said on Thursday.
“Afrimat’s entry into bulk commodities two years ago proved to be well-timed, contributing handsomely to the sustained earnings growth.
“Healthy international iron ore prices turned the recently acquired Demaneng iron ore mine into a star performer,” the group said.
This helped offset a difficult period for the construction-materials division.
“Our construction-materials segment felt the brunt of the slowdown in economic activity, with the KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng businesses being impacted the most,” said Afrimat CEO Andries van Heerden.
Afrimat said net cash from operating activities increased by 46.4% to R410.5m, allowing it to reduce its net debt-to-equity ratio to 23.8% from 35.5%.
The company said it would pay a final dividend of 62c a share, versus 42c a year before. Total dividends for the year amounted to 81c per share, from 62c previously.
Afrimat said in April it had made an offer to buy Australia-listed Universal Coal. It would pay up to A$0.40 per Universal share.
A due-diligence process is under way, Afrimat said.
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