Branded automotive, industrial and electrical consumable products group of companies Hudaco grew its turnover for the six months ended May 31 by 12% year-on-year to R3.8-billion.

Turnover was also 19% higher than pre-Covid-19 levels.

Gross profit climbed by 11.1% to R1.4-billion for the period under review.

Profit during the period under review increased by 25% year-on-year to R292-million, while operating profit climbed 27% to R452-million.

Cash generated from trading activities grew by 22% to R558-million.

As such, headline and basic earnings a share were 25% higher year-on-year, at R8.57, which was 65% higher than pre-Covid-19 levels. Profit attributable to equity holders of Hudaco increased by 22.4% year-on-year to R257-million.

These factors led to Hudaco declaring an interim dividend a share of R3, payable on August 15.

CE Graham Dunford says there have been a lot of challenges around the world, especially in supply chains, both globally and locally. “Those global challenges [come down to] unpredictable supply around the world.”

He adds that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also made several aspects of doing business difficult, as have the “really disruptive” Covid-19 lockdowns in parts of China with the closure of Shanghai ports and major manufacturing centres.

In addition, a shipping container shortage also served to hinder the movement of stock globally.

Locally, the Port of Durban continued to experience inefficiencies, which were only exacerbated by the April flooding in the broader KwaZulu-Natal region, impacting logistics and the operating of local businesses.

There have also been blockades on sections of the N3 highway, which he says requires urgent attention after these proved to be significantly disruptive to business.

Further, worsening load-shedding will remain a disruptive factor in the domestic business environment.

However, despite all of these challenges, he says Hudaco has managed to carry the momentum it thought it would after exiting the hard lockdowns of the past few years and continues on a path to boosting business.

“The [state of the] economy has helped us in some of the sectors,” says Dunford. These include Hudaco’s alternative energy business, which has been boosted by load-shedding and has resulted in people seeking alternatives to Eskom supply.

Hudaco’s automotive parts business has also seen a lift in performance, driven partly by the ongoing global chip shortage, which means people are choosing to maintain existing or used vehicles, instead of buying new vehicles.