SOUTH AFRICA – The disposal of Tiger Brands’ Nigerian business boosted its interim earnings by up to 28%.

Excluding the gain from the sale of Dangote Flour Mills in February, headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months to end-March were roughly the same as in the matching period last year, the fast moving consumer goods group said on Tuesday morning.

Tiger Brands said it expected to report on May 24 that interim HEPS excluding the sale of its Nigerian business would be in the range of 2.5% lower to 2.5% higher than the matching period’s R9.75.

Basic earnings including the sale are expected to be 23%-28% higher than the matching period’s R8.32.

Tiger Brands said it expected to report solid operating results for the period under review, reflecting a 9% increase in turnover and 7% increase in operating income from continuing operations, notwithstanding the significant cost push experienced from rand weakness and the effects of the drought on soft commodity prices, particularly within the grains division.

Rhodes Food Group, which listed last year, also issued a trading statement on Tuesday morning. It expected to report on May 23 that, excluding the R21.8m listing costs, HEPS for the six months to March 29 had nearly doubled from the matching period’s 26.7c.

Including listing costs, Rhodes Foods said it expected to report growth in normalised HEPS of between 35% and 40% from the matching period’s 36.6c.

May 3, 2016; http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/retail/2016/05/03/disposal-of-dangote-boosts-tiger-brands