| Wed 25 Jan 2012, 12:30 | | BAW - Barloworld Limited - Trading Update |
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BAW
BAW
BAW - Barloworld Limited - Trading Update
Barloworld Limited
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1918/000095/06)
(Share code: BAW)
(ISIN: ZAE000026639)
("Barloworld or the Company")
TRADING UPDATE
Trading for the first quarter of the 2012 financial year has seen a continuation
of the positive momentum from 2011.
Equipment
In Equipment Southern Africa, revenue and operating profits are up on the prior
year due to sustained mining, contract mining and after sales activity.
Construction activity in South Africa, however, remained muted. Trading in the
southern African territories outside of South Africa remained strong and Angola
has seen a marked improvement. The firm order book at December has increased
from the R5.2bn reported at September to over R6bn. This should largely
underpin our performance for the balance of the financial year.
Trading in Russia continued strongly and the firm order book at December is up
on September levels and remains dominated by mining orders. The power business
showed a marked improvement driven primarily by sales in the electric power
segment.
The Spanish economy remains under pressure and our Iberian revenue in the first
quarter was slightly down on the prior year. In accordance with our plans, we
implemented a restructuring in December to further realign our cost base with
prevailing activity levels. This will benefit our trading result in the second
half of the financial year. The order book includes some large package deals
announced at the year end, the majority of which deliver into 2013.
Automotive and Logistics
The Automotive and Logistics division is trading well ahead of the prior year.
Car rental volumes and rental rates are improving while fleet utilisation
remains high. Our Motor retail operations in southern Africa experienced
improved volumes and higher overall margins. Our Australian operations continue
to deliver, supported by a stronger Australian dollar. Fleet Services provided a
solid result and vehicles under management continue to grow.
The Logistics operations in southern Africa are performing ahead of the prior
period, supported by recently awarded contracts and improving volumes. While the
international businesses have benefitted from the prior year restructuring, they
remain affected by lower volumes and depressed freight rates.
Handling
In Handling, year to date sales are ahead of last year with trading profits
reflecting a good turnaround on the loss incurred in the prior period.
Agriculture South Africa continues to produce good results on the back of strong
maize prices and improved farming sentiment which translated into a significant
increase in revenue.
Finance
Net debt levels have risen since September 2011 in support of the growth in
trading, but remain within target ranges. We anticipate working capital at March
to remain high in advance of strong machine deliveries in the second half.
Corporate Activity
Discussions with Caterpillar Inc. are continuing in relation to the possible
acquisition of Bucyrus distribution rights in our existing dealership
territories. We continue to evaluate strategic opportunities in all our
businesses.
Sandton Sponsor:
25th January 2012 J.P. Morgan Equities Ltd.
About Barloworld:
Barloworld is a distributor of leading international brands providing integrated
rental, fleet management, product support and logistics solutions. The core
divisions of the group comprise Equipment (earthmoving and power systems),
Automotive (car rental, motor retail and fleet services), Handling (materials
handling and agriculture) and Logistics (logistics management and supply chain
optimisation). We offer flexible, value adding, integrated business solutions to
our customers backed by leading global brands. The brands we represent on behalf
of our principals include Caterpillar, Hyster, Avis, Audi, BMW, Ford, General
Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Volkswagen and others.
Barloworld has a proven track record of long-term relationships with global
principals and customers. We have an ability to develop and grow businesses in
multiple geographies including challenging territories with high growth
prospects. One of our core competencies is an ability to leverage systems and
best practices across our chosen business segments. As an organisation we are
committed to sustainable development and playing a leading role in empowerment
and transformation.
The company was founded in 1902 and currently has operations in 26 countries
around the world with approximately 60% of our eighteen thousand employees in
South Africa.
Corporate information
Registered office and business address
Barloworld Limited, 180 Katherine Street
PO Box 782248, Sandton, 2146, South Africa
Tel: +27 11 445 1000
Email: invest@barloworld.com
Transfer secretaries - South Africa
Link Market Services South Africa (Proprietary) Limited
(Registration number 2000/007239/07)
13th floor Rennie House, 19 Ameshoff Street, Braamfontein
(PO Box 4844, Johannesburg)
Tel: +27 11 630 0000
Registrars - United Kingdom
Equiniti Limited, Aspect House, Spencer Road
Lancing, West Sussex, BN99 6DA, England
Tel: +44 190 383 3381
Transfer secretaries - Namibia
Transfer Secretaries (Proprietary) Limited
(Registration number 93/713)
Shop 8, Kaiser Krone Centre, Post Street Mall
Windhoek, Namibia
(PO Box 2401, Windhoek, Namibia)
Tel: +264 61 227 647
Directors
Non-executive: DB Ntsebeza (Chairman), SAM Baqwa, AGK Hamilton*, S Mkhabela, MJN
Njeke, SS Ntsaluba, TH Nyasulu, G Rodriguez de Castro de los Rios+, SB Pfeiffer#
Executive: CB Thomson (Chief Executive), PJ Blackbeard, PJ Bulterman, M
Laubscher,
OI Shongwe, DG Wilson
*British #American +Spanish
Company secretary: Bethuel Ngwenya
Tel +27 11 445 1000
Enquiries: Barloworld Limited: Jacey de Gidts
Tel +27 11 445 1000
E-mail invest@barloworld.com
College Hill: Jacques de Bie, Tel +27 11 447 3030
E-mail Jacques.deBie@collegehill.co.za
For background information visit www.barloworld.com
Date: 25/01/2012 12:30:00 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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