Releasing a trading update on Thursday (23 January) the group said its consolidated headline earnings per share for continuing operations as well as for its total operations were expected to increase by between 8% and 11% over the comparable period a year earlier.
The group said its overall sales performance was sound in a tough trading environment‚ with strong volume growth in biscuits and snacks‚ both in SA and regionally.
The consolidated gross profit margin declined slightly due mainly to gross margin pressure in the footwear businesses‚ however‚ the consolidated operating profit margin benefited from volume leverage in some categories and was in line with that for the same period a year earlier.
The group said Indigo Brands received a one-off pretax payment of R150m from Coty following the revision of their commercial relationship. The net after-tax gain of R122m was included in the results for the period as a capital item.
The weighted average number of shares in issue for the six-month period was 2.3% higher than last year because of the issue of new shares in terms of the group's various share-incentive schemes.
Consolidated earnings per share (EPS) for the continuing operations‚ including capital gains and losses‚ were expected to increase by between 27% and 29% when compared with the previous year‚ while consolidated EPS for the total operations of the group‚ including capital gains and losses‚ were expected to rise by between 19% and 21%.
AVI will release its results in March.
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