Bidcorp shares on the rise as it focuses on likely ’new normal’

DURBAN – Bid Corporation’s (Bidcorp’s) share price rose more than 7 percent after the international food service business said it had seen the market rebound in June, with overall activity levels returning to 85 to 90 percent of pre-Covid-19 levels.

Bidcorp chief executive Bernard Berson said their current focus was to anticipate the likely “new normal” that would exist post the short-term effects of the Covid-19 crisis and to scale their activities accordingly.

“Overall activity levels have returned to 85 to 90 percent of pre-Covid-19 levels, with several  businesses now achieving growth higher than the comparative period a year ago. There are, however, a few markets which are still lagging, those being the UK and some in emerging markets,” Berson said.

Its headline earnings per share from continuing operations, post the introduction of IFRS 16 leases, declined by 48.6 percent to 741.3 cents a share, down from last year’s 1 443.6c and on a like-for-like basis excluding the impacts of IFRS 16, headline earnings per share decreased by 50 percent.

Bidcorp share price climbed to an intraday high of R270.82 a share, up from Tuesday’s closing price of R249.68.