Remgro reveals impressive FY earnings

Remgro Holdings, a South African investment company, has recently released its financial results for the year ending in June 2017. The company reported a 40 percent increase in headline earnings, reaching 8.2 billion rand, up from 5.8 billion rand the previous year. Additionally, headline earnings per share saw a 32 percent increase. These numbers, announced just as the exchange closed, have sparked interest and curiosity among investors and analysts alike. Joining CNBC Africa to discuss these results is Remgro's Chief Executive, Jannie Durand. During the interview, Durand shed light on the nuances behind the seemingly impressive figures. Despite the headline numbers painting a rosy picture, Durand emphasized that when excluding certain cost rates, the growth in headline earnings per share was actually close to flat, experiencing a minor decrease of 3 percent. He attributed this mixed performance to various factors, including a strong rand impacting foreign currency earnings, challenges in the chicken industry affecting RCL's earnings, and distortions caused by accounting anomalies related to past transactions. Despite these challenges, Durand expressed satisfaction with the overall performance, highlighting the company's decision to increase its final dividend by over 9 percent and its total dividend by 7.6 percent for the year. While acknowledging the impact of certain one-off events on the financial results, Durand emphasized the importance of looking beyond the headline numbers to understand the underlying performance of the company. Remgro's diversified portfolio, which includes investments in companies like FirstRand and MediClinic, has played a significant role in the company's financial performance. Looking ahead, Durand remains optimistic about the future prospects of the company, citing potential growth opportunities and a commitment to delivering long-term value to shareholders. As investors digest the latest financial results, analysts are likely to delve deeper into the details to gain a comprehensive understanding of Remgro's performance and trajectory in the market.