Heavy duty equipment and articulated vehicles supplier Bell Equipment, on Thursday said that the company's after-tax profit for the year ended December 2007 was R365-million, indicating a 54,6% increase in headline earnings a share to 385c a share.

The company's full results would be published on March 17.

The recent surge in growth of the mining, construction and plant hire markets has benefited the company, which has undertaken an expansion drive.

Bell Equipment was expanding its Richards Bay plant, in KwaZulu-Natal, and the new assembly hall would be completed in 2009, increasing capacity from the current 2 500 units a year to 4 000 units a year. The R120-million expansion would add 600 jobs to the plant's payroll, currently numbering 2 000 people.

The company was also building a new R190-million parts distribution centre on the East Rand, in Gauteng, which would be completed by the end of 2008.

Bell also indicated that Kelan Manning had been appointed to the Bell board as nonexecutive director with immediate effect, following the resignation of John Dalhoff.

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