Altron, which has bought Altech fully into its fold in a R1.8 billion deal, expects earnings to be higher in the six months to August.
The company this morning told shareholders that normalised headline earnings per share, which strips out unusual items, are expected to be between 10% and 15% higher when compared with the first half of last year.
A year ago, this matrix was 81c. Its shares gained 50c, or 2.17%, to R23.50 in mid-morning trade today.
Overall headline earnings per share will be between 0% and 5% higher. Last year, revenue gained 11%, to R12.8 billion.
However, write-downs at Altech's East and West African operations, which need to be carried on the income statement due to accounting rules, led to Altron's profit of R16 million in the first half of 2011 becoming a R293 million loss. These units have since been disposed of.
The impairments led headline earnings per share 2% lower, to 81c. Stripping out the losses in Altech's African businesses, headline earnings per share would have gained 12%
Basic earnings per share for the half-year should be between 75c and 85c, compared to a previous 3c a share loss. The results should be published on 8 October.
Altron is taking ownership of its biggest revenue contributor, Altech, from 61% to 100% and aims to remove any overlaps between businesses and build on its convergence strategy. Altech accounted for revenue of R10.4 billion of Altron's R24.8 billion income in the year to February.
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