A strong performance by MTN helped telecommunications, media and entertainment group Johnnic Holdings almost double its headline earnings per share for the six months to end-September.
<B>Salient figures</B>
Johnnic Holdings results for the six months to 30 September 2002.
Year-earlier figures in parentheses:
Revenue: R10.34b (R6.54b)
EBITDA: R2.76b (R1.57b)
Profit before tax: R1.34b (R637.8m)
Profit after tax: R883.8m (R287.7m)
Attributable earnings: R356.1m (R131.2m)
HEPS: 234c (122c)
Current assets: R6.84b (R4.84b)
Bank balances, deposits and cash: R1.72b (R904.7m)
Current liabilities: R10.29b (R5.19b)
Cash inflows from operating activities: R2.18b (R788.8m)
"Johnnic has produced excellent results primarily due to a strong performance by the telecommunications business," says chief operating officer Jacob Modise.
"Although the MTN Group underwent a period of muted earnings growth as a result of international expansion activities in the previous year, the company has most certainly resumed its positive growth trend."
Exceptional items amounted to R25.3 million as a result of a R95.3 million surplus on the unwinding of the MTN Group special purposes vehicles reduced by the group`s share of exceptional losses from associates of R55.4 million.
"As Johnnic enters a period of consolidation, earnings will be impacted to an increasingly lesser extent by large exceptional profits or losses because the bulk of the non-core assets have been sold," Modise says.
The group`s current liabilities, at R10.29 billion, exceed current assets of R6.84 billion.
Modise says this is as a result of the shortening in the debt maturity profile in the MTN Group due to the reclassification of current $450 million syndicated bridge facility arranged by Standard Bank London and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, which terminates in July next year.
The MTN Group is renegotiating this facility and firm underwriting commitments have been received for $250 million.
"We are confident that MTN management will be able to extend these facilities. The group continues to look at ways to optimise its capital structure."
Telecommunications contributed R8.68 billion to total revenue (2002: R5.17 billion) and R2.69 billion (R1.5 billion) to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).
Digital media accounted for revenue of R63.9 million (R39.1 million) and an EBITDA loss of R1.9 million (R10.7 million).
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