Chemical products group expects shares to plunge by more than 160% mainly due to higher finance charges as a result of debt taken on for an acquisitionChemical products group Omnia said on Wednesday it expected its earnings per share for the year to end-March 2019 to plunge by more than 160%, mainly due to higher finance charges as a result of debt taken on for an acquisition.
Omnia’s specialised chemical products and services are used in the mining, agriculture and chemicals sectors. The group said headline earnings per share were expected to fall by more than 120%, resulting in a loss per share of at least 198c. A number of “once-off items” also contributed to the poor performance, Omnia said. These included R35m incurred in the restructuring of Protea Chemicals, the company said. As a result of the restructuring, the group has removed annual costs of R75m from Protea Chemicals.
“The mining business continues to experience pressure on volumes and margins across the various commodities and geographies in which the business operates due to mines in the SADC region being under pressure as well as competitive pressure due to the oversupply of nitrates coupled with lower demand,” Omnia said.