Famous Brands, the branded food services franchisor, said yesterday headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months to August 31, 2021 were expected to increase between 329 cents and 349 cents when compared to the prior comparable period, after its operations started recovering from the impact of the pandemic across all its businesses.
This would translate in HEPS of between 89-109 cents, compared with the equivalent of a 240 cents per share loss reported at the end of the comparable period last year.
“Across our trading markets, in South Africa, rest of Africa and the Middle East and the UK, the negative financial impact of the pandemic and resultant lockdowns and trading restrictions as well as the civil unrest in SA have materially impacted the group’s results,” a trading statement from the group said.
The performance however had recovered in varying degrees across trading markets, but the group’s focus through the interim period continued to be to reduce costs and preserve cash for balance sheet flexibility. “We have not utilised any of our contingency banking facilities,” the statement said.
The prior comparable period earnings were impacted by an impairment of R1.3bn in relation to the group investment in Gourmet Burger Kitchen in the UK.
BUSINESS REPORT