Sharenet Sites 
Sharenet Sites
Trading statement and trading update
METAIR INVESTMENTS LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
Registration number: 1948/031013/06
JSE share code: MTA
ISIN: ZAE000090692
(“Metair” or the “Company”)
TRADING STATEMENT AND TRADING UPDATE
In terms of paragraph 3.4(b) of the JSE Limited Listings Requirements, companies are required to
publish a trading statement as soon as they are satisfied that a reasonable degree of certainty exists
that the financial results for the period to be reported will differ by at least 20% from the financial
results for the previous corresponding period.
Metair is in the process of finalising their results for the six months ended 30 June 2017 (“Results”)
and shareholders are accordingly advised that the Company expects to report:
- headline earnings per share to be between 105.6% and 114.8% higher (between 111 cents
and 116 cents per share) compared to the 54 cents per share for the previous corresponding
period; and
- earnings per share to be between 103.7% and 114.8% higher (between 110 cents and
116 cents per share) compared to the 54 cents per share for the previous corresponding
period.
Results Commentary
The increase in expected group earnings for the six months ended 30 June 2017 (the “Period”) is
largely driven by improved performance from the automotive components business, while the energy
storage results are expected to be marginally lower due to currency weakness of foreign reported
earnings.
Automotive Components Vertical
The 2016 financial year started with a model change in the automotive components vertical and the
Company experienced model launch challenges during the first half of the year. All of the automotive
components businesses have settled and eliminated premium support cost, costs associated with
volume ramp-up complexities and variable manufacturing activity associated with securing and
launching the new light commercial vehicle from our major customer.
The business is expected to achieve low double digit turnover growth for the Period, as production
volumes normalise following the 2016 ramp-up.
The Company expects this vertical to achieve profit before interest and tax (“PBIT”) margins of
between 9.0% and 9.5% for the Period, as a result of manufacturing and volume stability and a strong
ZAR. The margins expected to be achieved for the Period are higher than the guidance provided
previously of between 6% and 8% largely due to the stronger ZAR, which provided short term
currency gains on imported materials and components that are not anticipated to continue in the
second half of the 2017 financial year. In addition new model launches are always associated with
lower margins, and therefore the Company maintains its guidance that the achievement of targeted
production volumes and efficiencies associated with the new technology and continued stabilisation of
manufacturing processes is expected to result in sustainable medium term PBIT margins on new
business of between 6% and 8%.
Energy Storage Vertical
This vertical is expected to achieve PBIT growth of between 15% and 20% on a local currency basis.
This business showed resilience despite a weaker Turkish Lira and higher commodity prices which
put significant pressure on the business, especially in Turkey, to successfully recover higher input
costs from the market over the short term.
Overall margins are expected to show a marginal improvement, despite the impact of increased input
costs and higher proportion of original equipment manufacturer volumes. This is due to an improved
performance from the Company’s South African battery business, higher margin export business from
Turkey and Romania, and satisfactory local operating performance from Turkey where PBIT is
expected to increase by 10-12% in local currency terms.
However, in terms of consolidated reporting in ZAR, the energy storage vertical has been impacted
extensively by foreign currency translation effects. In particular, the Turkish Lira devalued on average
31% against the South African Rand from the previous corresponding period.
Due to the currency translation impact from the Energy Storage vertical’s operating regions, mid-
single digit decline in group reported PBIT for this vertical is expected when compared to the previous
corresponding period.
The financial information on which this trading statement and trading update is based has not been
reviewed or reported on by the Company’s external auditors and is the responsibility of the directors
of Metair. The Results are expected to be published on or about 17 August 2017 and further details
on the Company’s operational and financial performance will be provided.
26 July 2017
Johannesburg
Sponsor
One Capital
Date: 26/07/2017 07:05:00 Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited ('JSE').
The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or completeness of
the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers, employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct,
indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature, howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on,
information disseminated through SENS.
