Capital equipment manufacturer Bell Equipment recorded improved profitability in the six months to June, as a 35% increase in sales pushed the company’s earnings to R151-million, up from R115-million in the first half of 2011.

Chairperson Michael Mun-Gavin said that Bell’s basic earnings increased to 143c a share, compared with 109c a share in the first half of 2011, and headline earnings reached 141c, up from 105c in the comparative prior six-month period.

Mun-Gavin, who expected this performance to continue throughout the remainder of the year, added that gearing returned to 20%, which was in line with the JSE-listed group's strategic aims.

Bell maintained its position in the domestic market and reported market share growth in Europe, Australasia and sub-Saharan Africa, despite global economic volatility. Revenue jumped from R2.1-billion in the first half of 2011, to R2.9-million in the first six months of this year.

Bell also introduced a new “state-of-the-art” truck range at the Intermat Exhibition in Paris earlier this year to maintain a technological advantage and offer its clients higher productivity, greater durability and lower lifetime operating costs, said Bell CEO Gary Bell.

Meanwhile, Bell said that the group was gearing up to take advantage of the positive short- to medium-term outlook, which included above average-economic growth and infrastructure development in Africa and Asia, as well as growing demand for many resources.

The group is also upbeat about South Africa’s infrastructure plans.

“We are in discussions with government to see how we can add to our direct and indirect employment in South Africa and stand to benefit from various government initiatives relating to infrastructure, economic development, job creation, local value addition and local procurement,” he added.

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