Johnnic Communications (Johncom) announced on Thursday that its interim headline earnings per share increased 156% to 179 cents for the six-month period ended September 30.
The media and entertainment group said its profits increased by 24% to R160-million, while revenue jumped 14% to R2,2-billion.
A dividend of 75 cents per share has been declared.
The media division delivered better results on the back of robust growth in advertising revenues and market shares as well as cost efficiencies extracted from a larger pool of newspapers — the company’s newspaper portfolio includes the Sunday Times, Sunday World, Business Day and Sowetan.
The Sowetan contributed to earnings and continued its circulation recovery to levels last seen in 2002, while the Eastern Cape newspapers produced solid results.
The digital businesses, driven by I-Net Bridge and CareerJunction, enjoyed an excellent six months. — I-Net Bridge