Howden Africa Holdings Limited - Trading Statement

Howden Africa Holdings Limited - Trading Statement                              
HOWDEN AFRICA HOLDINGS LIMITED                                                  
(Incorporated in Republic of South Africa)                                      
(Registration Number 1996/002982/06)                                            
Share Code: HWN      ISIN: ZAE000010583                                         
("HAHL" or "the Company")                                                       
Trading statement                                                               
In April 2004, Howden was awarded a contract worth R17.4m to supply a rotary    
drier plant to Libya. Howden has recently encountered difficulties in the       
execution of this contract inasmuch as it appears the customer will not meet its
contractual obligations and accordingly R 5.3 million in costs associated with  
this contract have now been written off. The impact of this will be to reduce   
earnings per share by 5.8 cents for the six months ended 30 June 2005. All      
practical steps will be taken to effect recovery of these monies and to mitigate
the charge and any significant change in this position will be communicated     
accordingly.                                                                    
In March 2004, Howden paid a special dividend of 47 cents per share, which      
carried an STC charge of 5.9 cents per share. The Company is not intending to   
pay a further dividend before June 2005, and the tax charge for the six months  
to June 2005 will not bear any corresponding STC charge.                        
The net effect of both these issues for the half year to June 2005 is that      
earnings per share and headline earnings per share are forecast to increase by  
between 60-80% above the corresponding period in 2004, although, if the effects 
of the STC, in respect of the half year to June 2004, are ignored, the earnings 
per share and headline earnings per share remain similar between the two half   
years.                                                                          
The above information has not been reviewed or reported on by the Company"s     
auditors. The Company"s results for the interim period ending 30 June 2005 are  
expected to be published on or about 29 August 2005.                            
9 June 2005                                                                     
Sponsor                                                                         
PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers                                   
Corporate Finance (Pty) Ltd                                                     
(Registration number 1970/003711/07)                                            
Date: 09/06/2005 03:16:23 PM Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za                     
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