Agriculture, fuel and manufacturing company KAL Group, formerly Kaap Agri, has reported lower annual earnings, reflecting a “subdued trading performance”.
Revenue for the 12 months ended September was 3% lower at R21.73bn, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) were down 4.4% at R859.3m.
Gross profit of R2.97bn was 1.9% higher and headline earnings per share (HEPS) declined 9.2% to 561.58c.
“Despite the subdued trading performance, the board has approved a total dividend for the year in line with the prior year, on the back of strong cash management and significantly lower debt levels,” the group said.
A gross final dividend of 126c per share was declared, compared with 130c a year ago, taking the total dividend to 180c, unchanged from the prior year.
Subsidiary The Fuel Company reported revenue of R12.69bn from R12.89bn a year ago. The Fuel Company provides a full retail fuel offering to a diverse range of customers and includes convenience store and quick-service restaurant outlets of TFC Operations and PEG Retail Holdings.
Agrimark’s revenue fell to R7.77bn from R8.18bn before. This unit provides a complete range of production inputs, mechanisation equipment and services, and other goods to agricultural producers as well as the public.
Agrimark Grain, which sells grain products and provides a complete range of services including storage and handling of grain products, also reported lower revenue, but the manufacturing segment increased revenue to R214.7m from R198.1m a year ago. This unit manufactures and sells dripper pipe, other irrigation equipment, food grade plastic bulk bins for the agricultural market and distributes other irrigation parts.
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