Iliad’s new streamlined business well-positioned for 2014

28th August 2013

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

Font size: - +

Building materials supplier Iliad has significantly advanced its “strategic repositioning” as improved growth emerged in the third quarter of 2013, CEO Eugene Beneke said on Wednesday.

Over the past three years, the JSE-listed company had been realigning its business through a strategic roadmap as it faced a subdued trading environment, marginal building plan recovery and a slowdown in the finishing end of the industry.

The group this week reported a fall in headline earnings, from 20c a share during the first half of 2012, to 0.4c a share for the six months ended June 30, 2013, as earnings a share moved into the red, recording a loss of 39c during the six months under review, compared with the earnings a share of 20.1c achieved in the corresponding prior half-year.

Beneke commented that, while the first quarter was disappointing, the improved second quarter showed signs of growth moving into the third quarter, with strong performances in the Free State, the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape. KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape, Limpopo and Gauteng reported subdued trading activity, as did North West, which had been strained by the challenges in the mining sector.

However, he noted that the group was now positioned to capitalise on a gradual improvement in the market.

Iliad had completed, or was near to completing, several key strategies under Project Keystone, including the delivery of a balanced portfolio contribution, the consolidation of its brand portfolio, the integration of its information technology (IT) platform and ensuring an integrated approach to procurement, besides others.

Project Keystone, which focused on providing a monolithic brand, sourcing new business, shifting to a single IT platform across all the stores and adding value services, was expected to provide the company with a sustainable competitive edge.

Iliad’s consolidated brand, Buco, had been rolled out, at a cost of R50-million, to all 47 of its revamped General Building Materials (GBM) outlets countrywide by June, with the national marketing campaign kicking off in August.

Despite the group closing two nonperforming stores, its aim of establishing new stores in line with its organic growth strategy was on track, with two new stores to be opened in Mpumalanga in the third and fourth quarters of this year.

Iliad had also focused on aligning its IT strategy through the R55-million implementation of a single integrated IT platform, with 55% conversions completed by June – the GBM IT platform conversion was expected to be completed by the end of the year and the entire group project completed by the second quarter of 2014.

The building materials supplier had aimed to re-evaluate its current back-office structure to support the addition of value services, for which the IT platform integration was a significant enabler. By year-end, the company would complete the consolidation its payroll systems.

Further, Iliad had disposed of the noncore Timber Wholesale and Ceramics businesses and the loss-making Ceramics Cash & Carry business components.

Edited by Mariaan Webb
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION