Industrial energy and supplies group enX has raised revenues by 51% to R883-million for year ended August 31, citing healthy divisional growth and a strong performance by the new fuel segment, which contributed nearly a quarter of group revenues.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) rose 34% to R66.3-million year-on-year, while adjusted headline earnings of R36.1-million increased by 5% and translated into adjusted headline earnings a share of 8.7c apiece.

Both these financial performance measures included currency losses of R16.2-million – or 2.8c a share – primarily owing to the rapid depreciation in the rand against the dollar.

“Our power segment remains our principal revenue earner, but we are also particularly pleased with the growth of the new fuel segment.

“Established last year, it turned in revenues of R210-million during the nine months that it formed part of the group. We expect this business to contribute materially to revenue and profitability in the future once we have a full 12 months trading in our results” said CEO Paul Mansour.

Power segment revenues for the twelve months amounted to R454.6-million, incorporating the manufacture, sale and rental of diesel generators and related components, as well as the distribution of industrial and marine engines.

While revenues for the first half of the year were flat, second-half revenues of R279.3-million increased by 30% year-on-year. Adjusted Ebitda of R55.6-million was up 32% year-on-year.

The segment has been strengthened after financial year-end by the acquisition in September of Genmatics, a diesel generator rental business, whose substantial presence in KwaZulu-Natal gave enX a national footprint in this sector.

Revenues in the new fuel and chemicals segment, meanwhile, emerged from Centlube, a producer and marketer of oil lubricants in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Centlube had taken on the ExxonMobil distributorship, and began distributing ExxonMobil oil lubricants from January. Monthly revenues and volumes had since increased “significantly”, bringing adjusted Ebitda in at R8-million, which included a currency loss of R13.4-million.

“As a precautionary measure, during the take-on of the ExxonMobil distributorship, Centlube held a significantly higher level of safety stock to ensure its strategic customers did not run out of product. This additional stock holding, which is dollar-denominated, was unhedged,” said the group.

The wood segment, which distributed professional woodworking equipment, sustained its turnaround, reporting sales of R218.2-million compared with R195.2-million in the prior year.

Adjusted Ebitda was R17.4-million – down from R24.8-million in 2014 – owing to the change in sales mix and investment in technical staff required to support their customers and drive the service component of the business.

The group, meanwhile, completed an empowerment transaction in September, with 25.01% equity participation from Samvenice Trading 1 Proprietary – a wholly owned subsidiary of CapLeverage – for an aggregate subscription price of R213.8-million.

On the strength of this transaction and other empowerment initiatives, enX was recently awarded a Level 4 broad-based black economic empowerment rating.

“The group is positive about future growth, but notes that its key risk is the performance of the rand. A sustained and rapid decline of the rand versus the group’s trading currencies will increase input costs.

“Having integrated Centlube into enX, completed the ExxonMobil take-on phase and employed key executives, the Centlube business is now settled. We are focused on growing volumes in all parts of the business, improving gross margins and optimising inventories,” said Mansor.

enX provided capital and consumable goods and support services to a range of industries in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa through power, fuel and chemicals and wood clusters.

Clients ranged from heavy industrial, automotive, mining and construction groups to wholesalers, retailers, technology and telecommunications companies, banks and manufacturers.