R189M PROFIT SWEETENER FOR TONGAAT HULETT

TONGAAT Hulett said yesterday that it expected to swing to an interim headline profit of as much as R189 million driven by a turnaround at its local operations, sending the sugar producer’s shares higher. Tongaat said headline earnings for the six months to the end of September would surge by between 150 and

160 percent, or to between R158m and R189m, from a loss of R315m during the same period a year earlier. The agriculture and agri-processing company has sold assets, cut jobs and sought an equity raise to boost cash flow amid high debt levels. The company flagged an increase in operating profit of about 70 percent for the period compared to the R1.3 billion generated a year earlier on the back of a good performance from its sugar operations and progress in its turnaround strategy. However, higher finance costs and a monetary loss arising from hyperinflation in Zimbabwe weighed on operating profit.