Adcock predicts 27% jump in Heps

Johannesburg - South African pharmaceutical company Adcock Ingram [JSE:AIP] on Tuesday predicted that its half-year headline earnings would increase by at least 27% per share.

In a trading statement released on the JSE, the company said it expects the financial results for the current reporting period to differ by at least 20% from the results of the previous corresponding reporting period.

It said the forecast difference of 20.3 cents arose through certain non-trading capital profits on the disposal of the group’s business in India during October 2016.

• READ: Adcock Ingram to sell loss-making Indian unit

Shareholders were advised that the company expects headline earnings per share (Heps) for the six-month period ended December 31 2017 to be not less than 27%, or 40c, higher than the previous corresponding reporting period.

Adcock Ingram further expects its earnings per share (EPS) for the same six-month period to be not be less than 12% or 20c higher relative to the previous corresponding period.

EPS and Heps for the previous corresponding reporting period were 168.9c and 148.6c respectively.

The pharmaceutical firm said it is in the process of finalising the results for this latest six-month period, and a more defined range of both EPS and Heps will be announced in a further trading statement in due course.