Shares in Mustek climbed in early trade on Tuesday after the ICT company said it expects headline earnings per share to rise by as much as 25% in the six months ended 31 December 2018.

Heps will rise by between 15% and 25% to between 66.79c and 72.6c compared to same period in 2017, it said.

Basic earnings per share are expected to be between 32% and 42% higher than the previous year at between 75.41c and 81.12c. The improvements come in spite of the weak economy, which was in recession for a portion of the company’s reporting period.

Net asset value per share will also rise — to between R14.30 and R14.40, compared to R12.70 at the end of 2017, Mustek said.

The JSE requires companies to publish a trading statement when they are “reasonably certain” that their financial results will differ by at least 20% when compared to the previous corresponding period.

Mustek, whose share price was trading 4.7% higher at 9.07am in Johannesburg at R7.85, expects to release its interim financial results on 22 February.  — (c) 2019 NewsCentral Media