Long4Life’s added businesses help boost revenue to R730m

INVESTMENT group Long4Life says its acquisitions during the 11-month period to end February have performed in line with expectations and helped push its revenue to R730.66 million.

Chief executive Brian Joffe said the businesses were acquired on the basis of them generating approximately R540m in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, creating a significant platform for growth. “These acquisitions have been decentralised into the group’s divisional structures of Sport and Recreation, Personal Care and Wellness and Beverages,” Joffe said.

The group’s acquired businesses are Sportsmans Warehouse, Outdoor Warehouse, Performance Brands from Holdsport last year and Sorbet and Inhle Beverages during the period.

It also bought Chill Beverages for R452m after deducting net debt of R182m.

The group, which presented its maiden results after it listed on the JSE in April last year, said that the revenue was generated from the acquired assets for a four-month period.

Joffe said it planned to consolidate the acquisitions and continue with further purchases in the future.

“We continue to actively assess investment opportunities, which complement the existing assets, as well as other opportunistic possibilities,” Joffe said.

The group said its operating profit for four months was R117.04m and it has a strong balance sheet of R1.7 billion in cash at the end of the period. Basic earnings attributable to shareholders of the company was R168.95m, with headline earnings at R170.39m.

It said based on 564 066 872 weighted average number of outstanding shares in issue, this translated into basic earnings and headline earnings of 30 cents and 30.2c respectively.

The board has declared a maiden dividend of 5.4c an ordinary share and it will be paid from income reserves.

Commenting on the results, Joffe said: “Our results for this period include the contributions from the newly-acquired companies for a four-month period only, while we show interest earned and corporate costs for the full 11 months. Our leisure and lifestyle businesses have since been organised into our core divisions and have been repositioned for future growth,” he said.

Committed Long4Life said it remained committed to enhancing black economic empowerment and participation and is currently negotiating the introduction of additional BBBEE shareholders. “If successfully implemented, it is anticipated that this will increase existing effective BBBEE ownership in Long4Life to approximately 20 percent,” the group said.

Long4Life’s board recently approved the allocation of R100m to venture capital opportunities.

“The fund will provide seed-funding in selected opportunities aimed at enhancing our vision in leisure and lifestyle,” the group said.

Long4Life shares rose 0.18 percent on the JSE yesterday to close at R5.55.