Barloworld (BAW) H2 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Demonstrated resilience amid global and regional volatility, with strategic focus on fixing, optimising, and growing the business portfolio.

• Maintained disciplined capital allocation, investing in growth, paying down debt, and distributing dividends.

• Continued pivot toward defensive, asset-light, and cash-generative industrial sectors.

Financial highlights

• Group revenue declined 10% year-over-year to R37.7 billion, mainly due to normalisation in Mongolia and subdued results in southern Africa.

• Excluding VT, revenue was R36 billion, down 4.7% from the prior year.

• EBITDA margin (excluding VT) remained resilient at 11.7%.

• Net asset value per share increased 3.9% to 9,141 cents.

• Net debt improved by 37% to R884 million.

• Total dividend distributed was 120 cents per share.

• Group headline earnings per share fell to 810 cents from 1,022 cents.

Outlook and guidance

• Positive outlook for Zambia, supported by strong copper prices, but hard currency liquidity challenges persist in Africa.

• South Africa expected to benefit from logistics reforms and infrastructure initiatives, though consumer sentiment remains cautious.

• Equipment southern Africa ends the year with a strong order book, nearly doubling to R3 billion.

• Ingrain's maize supply secured for 2025/26, with favourable crop projections.

• Mongolia's growth rates expected to stabilise; VT trading near break-even with sufficient capital.