Yesterday, Bidcorp released a pleasing set of quarterly numbers, and its share price jumped 6% higher. It's great to see this company do well, as they carry the South African flag across large parts of the globe. You will see their trucks on the road if you have an early run in most major European capitals.
Over 90% of Bidcorp's operations are now outside of South Africa, so the strength of the Rand has dampened their reported profits. They recently bought three more companies to bolt on to their global operations. Those operate in the UK, Belgium and the Baltic region, and will add an extra R3.5 billion in annual revenue.
The standout region for Bidcorp was the Eurozone, with revenue growth of 10%. The UK and Australasia picked up by 8% and 3%, respectively. Bidcorp has also found it tough going in China, like most multinationals. Luckily the group only has small operations in the region.
Interestingly, they reported a shift to more in-home eating as consumers cut back on spending. On the operations side of things, Bidcorp said salary increases in developed markets are now higher than inflation, and they are struggling to fill driver and warehouse operator positions.
We are happy holders of this well-run company, in our JSE portfolios.