Bell’s profit surges amid mining demand
CAPE TOWN - Bell Equipment, which makes and sells heavy machinery such as dump trucks and forklifts, said it cashed in on robust demand from the mining industry in 2022, growing profits by almost twothirds, while also maintaining a record order book.
Profit after tax increased 63 per cent to almost R639 million to end-December, the company said, with its final dividend jumping 80 per cent to 90c per share, about an R86 million payout.
Valued at about R1.6 billion in the JSE, Bell generates almost 60 per cent of its revenue from its SA segment, while also selling equipment internationally, including in Europe, Asia and the rest of Africa.
Group sales were up 28 per cent in 2022, the company said, also benefiting from an easing of global supply chains.
SA experienced a positive year as well, it said, with favourable commodity prices fuelling demand in the mining industry, while demand was strong in the US and UK despite high inflation levels.
The order book is being maintained at record levels, with the group saying it was taking orders mobile operator MTN will hike prices by just over five per for 2024.
Bell CEO Leon Goosen said in a statement that increased demand for commodities, country-specific post-COVID-19 stimulus packages, and increased infrastructure spending in several markets had driven demand for articulated dump trucks in particular.
Supply
“The conflict between Russia and Ukraine since February 2022, caused ongoing supply chain constraints following the lingering effects of COVID-19, resulting in us having to cut back on production. While we mitigated these challenges well by closely managing high-risk suppliers and putting supply continuity interventions in place, it did prevent us from fully capitalising on the market conditions,” he said.
Load-shedding in SA was also a major headache, he said, with the company increasing production at its factory in Germany, investigating the feasibility of sourcing fabrications from outside of SA, as well as installing a grid-tied solar system for the Richards Bay factory.
Bell’s shares rose 0.17 per cent to R17.25 on Friday, and have risen by almost a fifth over the past year. cent with effect from the be- ginning of April, though it has repeatedly stressed that this was below in inflation.