South Africa: Omnia declares special dividend as mining business shores up profits
South African chemicals company Omnia Holdings on Monday declared a special dividend for the second year running after its growing explosives business helped offset the impact of bad weather and economic turbulence on its African agriculture business.
Omnia reported headline earnings per share - a key profit measure - of 7.04 rand ($0.3964) in the year ended March 31, compared with 6.99 rand the previous year.
The company, which supplies fertilisers and soil additives to countries in Africa and overseas, also manufactures explosives used in the mining industry.
Omnia's mining division reported a 10% increase in revenue to 9 billion rand, helping offset a 2% revenue decline in the agriculture business, which was impacted by challenging operating conditions in Africa, excluding South Africa.
Currency volatility in Zimbabwe, logistical disruptions in Mozambique due to political unrest and the impact of a severe drought in Zambia had impacted Omnia's income, CEO Seelan Gobalsamy said in an interview.
However, increased demand for uranium, copper and other metals vital for the global shift to renewable energy are driving demand for mining consumables and boosting income for Omnia's explosives business.
Omnia was seeing strong demand for mine explosives in Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, while its Indonesian joint venture also continues to grow, Gobalsamy said.
"Our mining profits are now higher than our agriculture profit," Gobalsamy said. "We all know Omnia for fertilizer, but mining is now bigger than our agriculture business."
Omnia declared an ordinary dividend of 4 rand per share and a special dividend of 2.75 rand per share, returning 1.1 billion rand to shareholders. Last year, the company paid out a special dividend of 3.25 rand per share.
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