In terms of the Listings Requirements of the JSE Limited, companies are required to publish a trading statement as soon as there is a reasonable degree of certainty that the financial results for the period to be reported upon next will differ by at least 20% from the financial results for the previous corresponding period.

On a statutory basis, Altron’s total operations Headline Earnings Per Share (HEPS) is expected to increase by between 102% and 110%, relative to the prior period, while Earnings Per Share (EPS) is expected to increase by between 230% and 243%.

On a normalised basis, the company’s total operations HEPS are expected to increase by between 52% to 57% from the prior period. EPS is expected to increase by between 109% and 118%.

In line with previous reporting, the financial results for the half-year ended 31 August 2018 have also been divided between continuing and discontinued operations.

Continuing operations

Subsequent to the restructuring of a number of core businesses, the majority of the group’s operations have had a strong performance for the half-year ended 31 August 2018, with a number of these producing EBITDA growth in excess of 20%.

Group revenue from continuing operations is expected to increase by between 42% and 46% relative to the prior period, while EBITDA is expected to increase by between 24% and 28%. HEPS for the period are expected to increase by between 45% and 52%, whilst EPS are expected to increase by between 62% and 68%.

On a normalised basis, the continuing operations’ revenue is expected to increase by between 41% and 45%, EBITDA is expected to increase by between 14% and 18%, and HEPS are expected to increase by between 22% to 28% from the prior period. EPS are expected to increase by between 36% and 43%.

The primary difference between continuing operations and the normalised continuing operations’ results relates to approximately R6 million (after tax) of non-recurring costs relating to restructuring (H1 FY18 R35 million).

Discontinued operations

As announced to shareholders on SENS on 26 July 2018, Altron concluded the disposal of Powertech Transformers, which was the largest business in the held-for-sale group. Agreement has been reached to sell Altech UEC, the last non-core control asset. This agreement is subject to a number of conditions precedent including Competition Commission approval. The final conditions are expected to be concluded by the end of November 2018. The significantly improved performance out of the discontinued businesses against the prior period has contributed to the ongoing improvement in both earnings and headline earnings per share.

The half-year financial results for the period to 31 August 2018 are expected to be released on SENS on 25 October 2018