Bidcorp’s maiden full-year results show the company got off to a blistering start as a JSE-listed entity.

• Maiden results show former Bidvest unit made headway in difficult times

Bidcorp’s maiden full-year results show the company got off to a blistering start as a JSElisted entity. The company, which was spun out of Bidvest in May 2016, reported a near double-digit rise in earnings despite difficult trading conditions in some key operations.

Bidcorp operates in the UK, Europe, Australasia and a number of emerging markets including SA.

The UK and SA, with their struggling economies, have proved to be difficult markets for local companies.

“There is growth to be had in the UK and in SA. The world doesn’t seem to be in a terrible place in general,” said CEO Bernard Berson on Thursday.

“There is no magic answer as to why we continue to perform well. We are very focused on what we do and we invest for growth. We are also quite fortunate that we are in the food business, which is more resilient and less cyclical than other categories,” said Berson.

In view of 2016’s separation from Bidvest, Bidcorp provided pro forma information. The information was used as a base for comparison.

In the year ended-June, Bidcorp’s headline earnings per share rose 9.4%, to R11.81. Net revenue fell 6.8%, to R130.9bn, largely due to currency fluctuations, the company said.

Kagiso Asset Management associate portfolio manager Dirk van Vlaanderen said the period under review had been good for the company despite a much stronger rand weighing on reported earnings.

“In constant currency, the company delivered 19% headline earnings per share growth, with all regions contributing,” said Van Vlaanderen.

The analyst said Bidcorp’s shift towards higher-margin product categories and more profitable customers had proved to be very successful in recent years.

“The formula looks set to continue in the year ahead, combined with more bolt-on acquisitions, which should further support growth,” said Van Vlaanderen.

Bidcorp made a number of acquisitions in the period under review. The most notable was the purchase of 90% of the issued share capital of Guzmán for an enterprise value of R1.1bn.

Berson said that although acquisitions would remain an important part of the company’s identity and success, no fixed amount had been set aside for potential purchases in the new financial year.

“We have lots of capacity for acquisitions though and our gearing is relatively low.

“We will assess acquisitions on a case-by-case basis and their relevance to their market. But we have a lot of capacity to do some sizeable transactions,” said Berson.

Bidcorp declared a final dividend of R2.50 per share, bringing the total to R5, up from R2.41 in the year-earlier period.

The share price closed 2.26% lower on Thursday on the JSE to R300.05, valuing the company at about R101bn.