Nu-World on track after lifting earnings 24% Vernon Wessels April 24 2002 at 06:28AM Johannesburg - Nu-World Holdings yesterday posted interim earnings up 24 percent to R17.1 million compared with the previous period, while earnings a share improved 24 percent to 78.8c.
The company was on track to break through the R1 billion turnover mark for the year to August, according to Michael Goldberg, the chief executive of the manufacturer and exporter of small electrical appliances.
The group showed a 25 percent increase in turnover from its local operations to R462 million for the six months to February compared with the same period a year earlier .
"Inventories and debtors are significantly down while cash on hand is up threefold to R55.9 million," he said.
"Exports in hard currencies have more than doubled year on year and our future growth will focus on increasing exports of rand-denominated manufactured products to sell overseas," Goldberg said.
The group had won a contract to supply US retailer Wal-Mart with table-top cookers and electric casserole dishes under the General Electric brand name. The deal was expected to add $1 million a month from the third quarter of the company's financial year, he added.
"Wal-Mart would review their buying orders every six to eight months but we are already working on new models E while there also seems to be quite a lot of excitement about our other products such as an electric wok and spiral hotplates," Goldberg said.
Nu-World was in the process of doubling its manufacturing capacity over the next 18 months to meet increased export demand that could see the group's staff complement at its Wynberg factory in Johannesburg rise to almost 1 000.
Nu-World stock closed 40c higher at R10.70.