Metro Cash And Carry Limited -
METRO CASH AND CARRY LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1946/021315/06)
Share Code: MTC ISIN Number: ZAE000012688
("Metro")
Metro"s Australian subsidiary beats forecasts with 20% growth in profit after
tax
Metro Cash and Carry Limited"s Australian subsidiary, Metcash Trading Limited
("Metcash"), today announced its audited results for the 6 months ending 31
October 2003. The group exceeded both its profit and sales forecasts - with all
3 business pillars showing excellent growth in turnover. Salient features of the
announcement were -
* Turnover across the 3 core business pillars increased by 7.3% to AU$3.44bn
* Earnings before interest and tax up 12.3% to AU$63.7m
* Profit after tax up 20% to AU$45.8m
* The group"s strong performance generated AU$87m in cash from operations
* Group borrowings were reduced by 25% to AU$109m over the comparative period
* Earnings per share increased by 16.1% to A7,2c
* Dividend per share increased by 25% to A5,0c
The Chief Executive of Metcash, Andrew Reitzer, expressed his satisfaction with
the results and confirmed expectations that that EBIT (Earnings before Interest
and Tax) growth will be similar in the second half of the year assuming the
continuation of the current trading conditions and economic growth in Australia.
21 November 2003
Sponsor
SASFIN CORPORATE FINANCE
A DIVISION OF SASFIN BANK LIMITED
Date: 21/11/2003 08:23:20 AM Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za
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