Durban - Bell Equipment, the materials handling equipment manufacturer, recorded an after-tax profit of R47,3 million for the six months to June 30, the highest half-year profit in its 35-year history, the company said yesterday.
Howard Buttery, the group chairman, said the company had made a remarkable recovery following its R10,6 million loss for the same period last year.
This was reflected in its earnings a share, which soared from a 14,5c a share loss for the six months to June 30 1999 to 50,7c earnings a share for the same period this year. Revenue increased 44 percent to R662,9 million from R460,6 million.
"Group restructuring, which effectively streamlined its operations on a worldwide basis, together with the strategic alliance agreement concluded with John Deere, the US construction equipment manufacturer, firmly repositioned the group back on a profitable basis," Buttery said.
Gary Bell, Bell's group chief executive, also pointed to the favourable effects of a strong dollar and the weak euro, the mining sector's contribution to Bell's bottom line, and an increase in local market share from 15 percent a few years ago to 23 percent.
Bokkie Coertze, the managing director in sales, said the performance of the company's South African operations had been outstanding despite the continuing negative sentiment in the country.
"Locally, the company benefited from lower interest rates," he said. No dividend was declared.
Bell lost 5c at end of trade to R9,90 yesterday.