Barloworld, one of the world’s biggest forklift and heavy equipment dealers, has traded well in the five months to February 28 despite being weighed down by contracting actiivity in its business in Russia.
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Barloworld, whose shareholders recently voted against a takeover by Saudi Arabia’s Zahid Group, is trading well as Barloworld Mongolia's strong performance is counteracting contractions in Equipment in Southern Africa and Vostochnaya Technica (VT) in Russia.
And despite constrained trading conditions in Southern Africa, Ingrain significantly improved its operational results for the five months to September 28 following a turnaround plan that was instituted in the second quarter of the 2024 financial year, according to a trading statement Tuesday.
The group results were nevertheless weighed down by the markedly lower activity levels at VT, as the business trades towards break-even at the profit level.
In the first five months of the 2025 financial year, group revenue fell 4.9% to R14.8 billion.
Group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined by 12% to R1.6bn. Operating profit from core trading activities fell 20.5% to R1.1bn.
Excluding VT, revenue fell 2% to R13.8bn and group EBITDA grew by 3%, while operating profit from core trading activities was flat at R1bn.
In the Industrial Equipment segment, revenue was down 2.3% to R10.9bn due to a 9.2% revenue reduction in Equipment Southern Africa, which was offset by the 44% increase in Barloworld Mongolia revenue in rand terms. Industrial Equipment's EBITDA of R1.4bn was flat.
Equipment Southern Africa's results reflected the slow recovery in the mining sector and the business disruption from unrest in Mozambique.
Mining customers were taking a cautious approach to capital re-investment whilst the construction industry recovery had not fully gained momentum, the group said.
Equipment Southern Africa's EBITDA fell 6.1% to R949 million and “remains resilient, representing an EBITDA margin of 10.8% compared to the 10.4% margin reported in the prior period,” the group said.
Barloworld's shareholders voted against resolutions to approve a scheme of arrangement for the Zahid takeover in February, and a standby offer was triggered that allows eligible shareholders to accept the offer under specific terms, at R120 per share.
Barloworld Mongolia continued to generate strong revenue growth, with 49.5% revenue growth to $116.3m. The aftermarket contribution remained strong at 48% of the total revenue mix.
“Aftermarket demand is expected to remain strong whilst prime product sales are expected to ease, especially when compared to the relatively strong sales generated in the second half of the prior financial year.”
VT's revenue fell 25.6% to $60.6m, impacted by lower activity levels following the curtailed inventory supply and the reducing addressable market due to the evolving sanction regime. VT generated EBITDA of $2.8m, 83% lower than the prior period.
BUSINESS REPORT
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