Nampak CEO André de Ruyter
Photo by: Duane Daws
JSE-listed Nampak on Thursday announced that it would sell its Corrugated, Sacks and Tissue divisions, to Ethos Private Equity for R1.58-billion, in line with its strategy of focusing on its core product segments of metals, glass and plastic.
Nampak noted that the disposal did not include its shareholding in Sancella or its recycling business.
The company planned to invest the proceeds of the transaction, which was expected to close in the second quarter of the 2015 financial year, in strategic growth opportunities in the rest of Africa.
Meanwhile, Nampak on Thursday also reported a 14% increase in headline earnings per share (HEPS) from continuing operations to 237.1c for the year ended September 30, supported by a 10% increase in revenue and an 8% increase in trading profit.
Trading profit from the rest of Africa increased by 25%, from R495-million in the prior year, to R616-million in the financial year under review, mainly owing to the contribution of Bevcan Nigeria and the continued good performance from Nampak’s Angola beverage can operation.
“Nampak had a strong 2014, marked by continued delivery on its ambitious strategy [of unlocking] further value from our base business and [accelerating] growth in the rest of Africa,” Nampak CEO André de Ruyter said.
He pointed out that the contribution to trading income by operations in the rest of Africa had increased to 30% in 2014 from 26% the year before.
“During the year, we took a critical look at our business and put in place various overhead cost management and business improvement programmes.
“Active portfolio management continues to be a theme, with an agreement reached on the disposal of the South African Corrugated, Sacks and Tissue divisions,” he said.
De Ruyter stated that Nampak also continued to pursue a number of growth opportunities in East and West Africa.
Nampak increased its final dividend for the year by 9% to 107c a share, resulting in a total dividend of 153c for the year.