Aspen grows interim profit

Aspen Pharmacare reports a 14 percent rise in half-year profit as revenue growth in most international markets offset a weak showing in SA.

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Johannesburg - South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare Holdings reported a 14 percent rise in half-year profit on Thursday as revenue growth in most international markets offset a weak showing at home.

Aspen, which makes only around a quarter of its sales in South Africa, said normalised headline earnings per share (EPS) rose to 655 cents in the six months to end-December, compared with 569 cents a year earlier.

Headline EPS is the main profit measure in South Africa and strips out certain one-off items.

Sales in South Africa fell by 3 percent as the company sold some of its businesses in the highly regulated pharmaceutical market.

Read also: Barloworld: Controlling stake acquired in Aspen

Shares in the company, which also operates in Germany, Australia and Venezuela, rose 3.04 percent to R305.34 by 1158 GMT, compared to a 1.52 percent gain by the JSE's benchmark Top-40 index.

REUTERS

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