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LABAT AFRICA LIMITED - UNAUDITED INTERIM GROUP RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED

Release Date: 20/11/2003 17:06
Code(s): LAB
Wrap Text

LABAT AFRICA LIMITED - UNAUDITED INTERIM GROUP RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31 AUGUST 2003 LABAT AFRICA LIMITED (Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa) Share code: LAB ISIN: ZAE000018354 (Registration number 1986/001616/06) ("the company" or "the group") UNAUDITED INTERIM GROUP RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31 AUGUST 2003 THE POWER TO DELIVER GROUP CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT Unaudited Unaudited Audited
six months six months 12 months 31-Aug-03 31-Aug-02 28-Feb-03 R"000 R"000 R"000 Revenue 90 433 145 257 244 930 Net operating income before depreciation 13 065 23 842 38 990 Depreciation (6 668) (1 589) (8 028) Net operating income before interest and taxation 6 397 22 253 30 962 Interest paid (6 426) (4 726) (11 957) Interest received 518 276 1 291 Net income before taxation 489 17 803 20 296 Taxation 1 922 9 228 12 994 Net income after taxation 2 411 27 031 33 290 Attributable to outside shareholders (1 241) (39) (1 815) Income attributable to shareholders 1 170 26 992 31 475 Shares in issue throughout the period ("000) 184 415 184 903 184 415 Basic/ Headline earnings per share (cents) 0,6 14,6 17,1 GROUP CASH FLOW STATEMENT Six months Six months Year to to ended
31-Aug-03 31-Aug-02 28-Feb-03 Net flow from operating activities (2 628) 10 151 6 799 Net flow from investing activities (3 923) (29 372) (41 161) Net flow from financing activities (3 095) 14 983 17 305 Net decrease in cash (9 646) (4 238) (17 057) Cash at beginning of period 22 555 39 612 39 612 Cash at end of period 12 909 35 374 22 555 GROUP CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET Unaudited Unaudited Audited six months six months 12 months 31-Aug-03 31-Aug-02 28-Feb-03 R"000 R"000 R"000
ASSETS Fixed assets 51 285 40 490 54 128 Investments 47 672 31 362 37 953 Deferred taxation 17 871 9 739 15 251 Non-current assets 116 828 81 591 107 332 Cash 12 909 35 374 22 555 Inventory 33 614 40 803 35 417 Accounts receivables 118 561 112 550 116 168 Current assets 165 084 188 727 174 140 Total assets 281 912 270 318 281 472 EQUITY AND LIABILITIES Share capital and reserves 154 723 147 168 153 553 Outside shareholders 8 004 3 626 6 263 Total shareholders" funds 162 727 150 794 159 816 Long-term liabilities 20 912 21 274 22 874 Deferred taxation 11 079 10 594 11 670 Non-current liabilities 31 991 31 868 34 544 Bank overdraft 50 419 46 220 50 238 Accounts payable 36 775 41 436 36 874 Current liabilities 87 194 87 656 87 112 Total equity and liabilities 281 912 270 318 281 472 Number of shares in issue ("000) 184 415 184 903 184 415 Total net asset value per share (cents) 84 80 83 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY Share Share Distributable Capital and Capital Premium Reserves Reserves R"000 R"000 R"000 R"000
Balance 28 February 2003 1 844 48 855 102 854 153 553 Surplus for period - - 1 170 1 170 Balance at 31 August 2003 1 844 48 855 104 024 154 723 COMMENTARY In line with general business trends, the volatile rand and the weakness in international markets have impacted upon results for the first six months of the year. To counteract these difficulties, we have aggressively pursued the development of our local markets and expect much success from these endeavours, though not in the short term. We are hopeful that the rand has now stabilised and that international markets are beginning to improve. We are optimistic that trading will improve from the second quarter 2004. We have expanded our business into other high growth areas and have embarked on a restructuring process aimed at separating the IT/Technology business and the retail operations. SAMES The above mentioned challenges have affected SAMES in particular. The world-wide semi conductor industry is forecasting a recovery only in the second quarter of 2004. To counteract the cyclicality of this business, new markets have been identified for our energy metering devices and South America, in particular, has been identified as a major new market with promising growth potential. The volatility of the rand has led us to re-examine the African market place and to develop a range of products more suitable to the "home" market. We have developed opportunities to manufacture end user products instead of components only, for example, plans to enter the electronic meter market are well advanced and next year will see the launch of our own AMR/prepaid meter solution. There is huge demand for these products in the African marketplace, in Asia and in South America. Another area, where Labat has invested heavily during the past year, is the "card" business. We expect to announce some significant developments with major international partners before the end of the year. These initiatives together with a stable rand and the expected growth in international markets mean that SAMES is well positioned to take advantage of better trading conditions. LABAT TRAFFIC SOLUTIONS Our technology has been successfully proven. We have established a credible presence in the municipalities in which we operate in and are now well positioned to attract new business. We now intend to extend our technology to help municipalities improve the efficiency of the cash collection process. Our recent acquisition, Total Computer Services, a complementary business providing back office administration services to municipalities, is performing well ahead of budget. LABAT CONSULTING AND IT The recent launch of the LABAT SSA Reseller for Africa was very well received and we see this as one of the building blocks in the development of a major consulting/solutions business anchored around world class products. We continue with our strategy of working with credible players in the IT field. LABAT RETAIL The recent interest rate cuts and positive inflation figures have given a boost to retail in general. ACME is well positioned to benefit from this upswing. Most of our retail profits are made in the second half of the year and we are expecting to have a good second half. We are continuing to implement a conservative credit granting policy to ensure a quality debtors book. ACCOUNTING POLICIES The accounting policies applied are consistent with those applied in the previous year and are in compliance with South African Statements of GAAP. DIVIDENDS It is company policy that no dividends will be declared as any group surpluses will be retained to fund future growth. For and on behalf of the board B G van Rooyen Group Chief Executive 20 November 2003 Directors: B G van Rooyen (Group CEO), V J Labat (USA), C P Rosholt, R C I Serobe, M J Shabangu, S L Majombozi Secretary: A N Britto INTERIM GROUP RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31 AUGUST 2003 Date: 20/11/2003 05:06:05 PM Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za Produced by the JSE SENS Department

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