Johannesburg - Bid Corp, the food-services business spun off from Bidvest Group in May, is projecting growth across its businesses as the company seeks acquisitions to expand market share and increase its geographic reach.
Growth in out-of-home eating is expected to continue and the Johannesburg-based company sees opportunities to expand in fresh produce, meat categories and value-add processing in most regions, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
Bid Corp has businesses from catering to food-processing, and operates in more than 40 countries, including Europe, the Middle East and Australasia. The company rose to more than double its parent’s market value on the first day of trading on May 30 and remains about 60 percent larger, with a market value of 85 billion rand ($5.7 billion).
Bid Corp “is confident of delivering further growth in the year ahead across all segments,” the company said. Growth will come organically, as well as “through bolt-on acquisitions” to expand product lines and territories, and “via larger acquisitions to enter new markets”.
Full-year headline earnings per share, which exclude one-time items, rose 33 percent to R10.80 for 12 months through June, when compared on a pro forma basis to give a better reflection of Bid Corp’s performance, the company said. Sales rose 21 percent, to R140.5 billion and the company declared a divided of R2.41 a share.
“Our financial position remains strong,” the company said. “Cash generation is robust and we retain significant headroom to accommodate expansion opportunities.”
BLOOMBERG