| Mon 12 Nov 2007, 16:13 | | TBS - Tiger Brands Limited - Trading Statement |
|
TBS
TIIH
TBS - Tiger Brands Limited - Trading Statement
TIGER BRANDS LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1944/017881/06)
Share code: TBS
ISIN code: ZAE000071080
("Tiger Brands" or "the Company")
TRADING STATEMENT
Shareholders are advised that, having considered the latest financial
information in respect of the year ended 30 September 2007, it is expected that
headline earnings per share ("HEPS") will reflect an improvement of between 5%
and 7% compared to that achieved in the previous financial year. Earnings per
share ("EPS") for the twelve months ended 30 September 2007 is expected to be
between 2% and 5% below that achieved in the 2006 financial year.
The variance between the percentage change in HEPS and EPS is due to the
inclusion, in attributable earnings, of net abnormal profits of some R466
million in 2006, primarily relating to the disposal of various offshore
investments. The profit arising from these disposals was excluded for the
purposes of determining headline earnings, and consequently HEPS, in that year.
In 2007, net abnormal profits which have been included in attributable earnings,
but excluded for HEPS purposes, are at a significantly lower level of some R269
million. This primarily comprises the profit on disposal of the Company`s dairy
business and the cost of impairment of licence rights previously capitalised.
The attention of shareholders is drawn to the SENS announcement released earlier
today, in which shareholders were advised of the agreement that had been reached
with the Competition Commission relating to the settlement by the Company of an
amount of R98,8 million as a consequence of certain contraventions of the
Competition Act.
The attention of shareholders is also drawn to the recent SENS announcement
relating to the proposed unbundling of the Company`s healthcare interests in
March 2008.
The expected increase in HEPS for the year ended 30 September 2007, of between
5% and 7%, is after taking into account the settlement in favour of the
Competition Commission as well as a provision of some R58 million for the
estimated costs of the unbundling. In terms of the new accounting circular on
Headline Earnings (Circular 8/2007) issued by SAICA in July 2007, the estimated
unbundling costs of R58 million may no longer be excluded in the determination
of headline earnings. In terms of the previous circular (Circular 7/2002), it
was a requirement to exclude such costs from headline earnings. Excluding both
these amounts, on an adjusted basis, HEPS is expected to reflect an increase of
between 13% and 15% compared to the figure reported in respect of the previous
financial year.
The results for the twelve months ended 30 September 2007 will be released on 19
November 2007, at which time a detailed analysis of the performance of the
company will be provided. The information in this trading statement has not
been reviewed or reported upon by the Company`s auditors.
Bryanston
Date: 12 November 2007
Sponsor
JP Morgan Equities Limited
Date: 12/11/2007 16:13:29 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the
JSE Limited (`JSE`). The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or
implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or
completeness of the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers,
employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct,
indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature,
howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on,
information disseminated through SENS.
