Sephaku Holdings' profit eroded by rising costs

Sephaku Holdings (Sephold) reported revenue of ZAR626.6m (US$33.44m) in the six months ended 30 September 2023, marking a 19.7 per cent YoY improvement. However, net profit after tax over the same period declined from ZAR26.7m to ZAR19.7, while headline earnings per share fell from 11.26 cents to 7.54 cents, reports IOL. 

According to the company, although activity in the construction industry improved, particularly in the civil construction and non-residential sectors, the rising costs of essential goods and services and higher interest rates continued to impact people’s disposable income, putting pressure on the retail market. 

Sephold also holds an investment in SepCem with Dangote Cement. Over the same six-month period, SepCem saw sales revenue of ZAR1.24bn, compared to ZAR1.16bn in the year-ago period, while the EBIT margin dropped from 5.3 per cent to 1.1 per cent. SepCem’s 36 per cent equity accounted loss came in at ZAR14m, versus a profit of ZAR3.8m in the same timeframe a year earlier. The company attributed the results to a combination of excess capacity, lower demand for bagged cement from retail customers and above-inflation fuel and electricity costs.