South African media group Kagiso Media on Monday announced that its headline earnings per share (HEPS) had improved by 15,6% to 70,2 cents per share for the year ended June 2004 from 60,7 cents previously.
The company reported a 19,6% improvement in net profit to R90,104-million from R75,316-million. It also announced its final dividend of 42 cents per share compared with 20 cents previously.
Kagiso said the increase in HEPS came on the back of a 38% growth in HEPS in the previous year. HEPS has grown by 19,8% annually compounded over the past five years. Headline earnings increased by 16,3% to R90,9-million while return on equity for the year under review was 65% and return on assets was 38%.
Revenue for the company that owns East Coast Radio, Jacaranda, OFM and RadMark rose 13,6% to R297,5-million for the period under review.
“The group earned R5-million less in interest on its surplus cash than in the previous year, largely because of the softening in interest rates over the past year.
Kagiso Media head office posted a loss of R15,7-million from an R11,2-million loss last year. Interest earned on surplus cash by the centre decreased by R2,8-million rand.
Turning to total radio revenues growth in South Africa — 20,5% for the period under review — the group said its operations had performed well.
“This strong [radio] revenue performance . . . saw the broadcasting division increase its contribution to Group headline earnings by 38% to R76-million.
“Margins at Jacaranda increased from 43,2% to 48,7% after an onerous consulting agreement came to an end in September 2003. This agreement had been in place since the station was privatised in 1997.”
The exhibitions’ business results for the year are down on that of the comparative period, during which Kagiso Exhibitions recorded once-off revenue from the services rendered to the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Auto Africa, the company’s substantial bi-ennial exhibition, also took place in the comparative period, but not in the period under review.
The three-year project management role to the International Marketing Council’s “Brand SA” project came to an end on June 30. This business contributed R3,5-million to headline earnings — lower than the R4-million it contributed last year.
“The robust consumer environment is expected to prevail for the remainder of 2004 and well into 2005, which bodes well for another strong performance by the group’s radio operations in the coming financial year,” the group said, adding that the acquisition of Jacaranda radio station should be earnings-enhancing.
The firm said its book publisher division Butterworths looks set for another year of good growth.
“Overall Kagiso Media is thus poised for another strong showing in the 2005 financial year.” – I-Net Bridge