JOHANNESBURG, Feb 24 (Reuters) - South African diversified industrial firm Bidvest Group Limited said on Monday that headline earnings for the first half of its financial year climbed 13.6 percent.
It said the effects of a firm rand masked strong operational growth.
Bidvest said headline earnings climbed to 243.2 cents a share in the six months to December 31, 2002, from 214 cents in the same period a year earlier. Headline earnings strip out exceptional items and their tax effects.
It said that headline earnings per share would have climbed 28.2 percent if the effects of a reduction in currency translation gains were excluded.