COMMENTARY
INTRODUCTION
The Board of AfroCentric is pleased to present the Group’s audited results for the year ended 30 June 2016, a watershed year in many respects, given the number of corporate actions which occurred and the material growth in principal members of Medical Schemes administered by the Group. These positive events, substantially occurring in parallel, demanded diligent management focus, including considerable capacity building and systems development in anticipation of the new scale of Group operations. In addition, an enormous management effort was required to ensure the seamless registration of 175 667 new principal members of the South African Police Service Medical Scheme (“POLMED”), an administration and managed care contract, the preparation for which started during August 2015, but operationally only commenced on 1 January 2016. AfroCentric was also delighted to finalize SANLAM’s acquisition in subsidiary, ACT Healthcare Assets (“AHA”), a premium partnership designed inter alia, to broaden SANLAM’s client choices in healthcare and healthcare products. In addition, 2016 was the first period of ownership of Pharmacy Direct and Curasana, (“WAD Assets”), enterprises of significance, the integration process being reasonably seamless, but nevertheless requiring a review of divisional authority within the group and management reorganisation.
ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND BASIS OF PREPARATION
The summary consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with the requirements of the JSE Limited Listings Requirements for provisional reports, and the requirements of the Companies Act applicable to summary financial statements. The Listings Requirements require provisional reports to be prepared in accordance with the framework concepts and the measurement and recognition requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) and the SAICA Financial Reporting Guides as issued by the Accounting Practices Committee and Financial Pronouncements as issued by the Financial Reporting Standards Council and to also, as a minimum, contain the information required by IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting. The accounting policies applied in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements from which the summary consolidated financial statements were derived are in terms of IFRS and are consistent with those accounting policies applied in the preparation of the consolidated annual financial statements.
Subsequent events and related parties are not material.
NATURE OF BUSINESS
AfroCentric is a JSE listed investment holding company which operates in and provides services to the healthcare sector. AfroCentric is one of very few JSE listed companies that is black owned and controlled, fulfilling the Group’s principal philosophy of transformation and empowerment. The Group enjoys a Level 2 B-BBEE rating, based on the new codes and is easily the most empowered healthcare-related enterprise on the JSE. AfroCentric’s core business is to provide health administration and health risk management solutions to its Medical Scheme clients. Through other speciality competences within its integrated network of health services, AfroCentric provides a range of complementary services which include, inter alia, information technology (“IT”) solutions; fraud detection, transactional switching; specialised disease management; pharmaceutical wholesaling and courier distribution services. AfroCentric continues to seek new and expansion opportunities in the healthcare sector that are aligned with Group strategy and are likely to contribute to the health and welfare of South African communities.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR
• Level 2 B-BBEE status achieved for the fourth successive year, based on the revised codes. |
• Medscheme appointed as health administrator and health risk management provider to POLMED. |
• BHF member of the year. |
• Medscheme achieved the Service Excellence award for Health Administration and Health Risk Management from the BHF |
• Medscheme Swaziland (Swazimed Medical Scheme) received the PMR Diamond Arrow Award for the best Medical Scheme in the country for the second consecutive year. |
• AfroCentric Health (AHL) repurchased the 5.9% minority interest held by its minority shareholders, the effect being that AHA now owns 100% of AHL. SANLAM owns 28.7% of AHA. |
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Given the positive nature and extent of the corporate actions and activities during the year, management in each business unit were continually under pressure, to ensure the seamless integration of the new and/or expanded operations without compromising service levels. In the event, management were able to rise to the challenge and their efforts are revealed in certain key financial statistics disclosed herein. It is common cause that AfroCentric and most other companies in South Africa, have unfortunately had to endure a consistently difficult and unstable economy, often punctuated by discordant politics and further affected by volatile currency conversion rates. In such prevailing circumstances, the results for the 2016 year, are regarded by the Board as highly satisfactory.
Comprehensive Net Income for the year increased by 24.55%, notwithstanding that early costs incurred in preparation for the Polmed contract have been absorbed. Income arising through Polmed, is only reflected for the latter six months of the year. The dilution through the issue of 86.5 million AfroCentric ordinary shares to the vendors of the WAD assets, including the dilution arising from the sale to SANLAM of 28.7% of the shares in AHA, all occurring during the year, earnings per share and headline earnings per share only reduced by 6.92% and 14.27% respectively. The WAD asset acquisitions performed as expected and the future WAD earnings, including the contributions expected through the SANLAM relationship, suggest that both business relationships will be earnings enhancing.
OPERATIONAL REVIEW
The following expenditure items were incurred during the year which are substantially regarded as non-recurring
expenditure, all of which have adversely impacted on the Group’s earnings:
• Transaction and advisory costs relating to both the WAD assets and SANLAM of R11.5 million. |
• Legal costs on the Neil Harvey and Associates matter of R10.8 million |
• Road Accident Fund (RAF) contract losses of R16.7 million |
• Executive service contract settlement costs of R20.2 million. |
PROSPECTS
During this past financial year, AfroCentric has successfully admitted, merged and/or integrated a number of commercial concerns, associates and new clients into the Group enterprise. These initiatives, in certain cases, required an early investment in capacity and infrastructure, were highly demanding of management, the reward however, being a broader beneficial spread of synergistic health sector interests. All of these enhancing health related steps were concluded with, or in association with, well known and respectable institutions, equally committed to the same objective of enabling easier healthcare access and more affordable delivery. The Group’s growth, its BEE status and its regular industry award winning competencies, have attracted significant market interest, evidenced earlier this year by Group subsidiary, Medscheme, appointed as administrators to POLMED and more recently, being approved administrators of the LMS Medical Fund with 110 000 lives (previously Liberty Medical Scheme), awaiting merger approval with Bonitas Medical Fund. All of these positive growth events are likely to add value to Group revenues in the future, hopefully to be translated into an enhanced level of earnings going forward. The Group is substantially debt free, is more than adequately capitalized, is systematically improving and increasing its IT capacity and will continue to seek related earnings enhancing acquisitions and partnerships. AfroCentric also stands ready and receptive to facilitate and participate in medical scheme consolidation which is seemingly taking place in the sector at this time. Notwithstanding the current market volatility and general economic challenges facing South Africa, the Board remains cautiously confident in the group’s growth prospects.
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
The variety of corporate actions which became effective during the year under review, inevitably saw several changes occurring,
both in Executive management appointments and on the Board of Directors.
Having regard thereto, the following changes took place during the year, in certain respects, reflecting the fulfilment of certain
contractual undertakings.
• Mr WRC Holmes retired as Executive Director and Group Chief Financial Officer effective 1 August 2015. |
• Mr D Dempers stepped down as Group Chief Executive Officer on 15 December 2015. |
• Mr D Dempers resigned as an Executive Director effective 2 June 2016. |
• Mr JW Boonzaaier was appointed as an Executive Director and Group Chief Financial Officer effective 1 August 2015. |
• Mr AV Van Buuren was appointed as an Executive Director and Group Chief Executive Officer effective 16 March 2016. |
• Mr WH Britz was appointed as an Executive Director effective 1 August 2015. |
• Ms LL Dhlamini was appointed as an Independent Non-executive Director and a member of the Audit and Risk Committee effective 2 December 2015. |
• Dr ND Munisi was appointed as a Non-executive Director effective 7 December 2015. |
• Mr IM Kirk was appointed as a Non-executive Director effective 15 December 2015 |
• Mr A Banderker was appointed as a Non-executive Director effective 15 December 2015. |
• Ms Y Masithela resigned as an Independent Non-executive Director effective 15 September 2016. |
DIVIDENDS
The Board of Directors has pleasure in announcing that in addition to the interim dividend of 12 cents per share already declared and paid during the year, a final dividend of 12 cents per ordinary share (gross) has been declared for the year ended 30 June 2016. Dividends are subject to Dividends Withholding Tax. In accordance with the provisions of the JSE Listings Requirements, the following additional information is disclosed.
• The dividends have been declared out of profits available for distribution. |
• The local Dividends Withholding Tax rate is 15%. |
• The gross dividend amount is 12 cents per ordinary share. |
• The net cash dividend amount is therefore 10.2 cents per ordinary share. |
• The company has 554 377 328 ordinary shares in issue at 30 June 2016. |
• The company’s income tax reference number is 9600/148/71/3. |
The salient dates relating to the ordinary dividend are as follows: | |
Last day to trade cum dividend | Tuesday, 8 November 2016 |
Shares commence trading ex-dividend | Wednesday, 9 November 2016 |
Dividend record date | Friday, 11 November 2016 |
Dividend payment date | Monday, 14 November 2016 |
Share certificates for ordinary shares may not be dematerialised or rematerialised between Monday, 9 May 2016 and Friday, 13 May 2016, both days inclusive.
BASIS OF PREPARATION
This summarised report is extracted from audited information but is not itself audited. This announcement does not include the information required pursuant to paragraph 16A(j) of IAS 34. The full provisional report is available on our website (http://www.afrocentric.za.com/inv-reporting.php), at our offices and upon request. The directors take full responsibility for the preparation of this report and the financial information has been correctly extracted from the underlying annual financial statements. The annual financial statements were audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. who expressed an unmodified opinion thereon. The audited annual financial statements and the auditor’s report thereon are available for inspection at the company’s registered office.
On behalf of the Board
Dr ATM Mokgokong | Mr AV Van Buuren |
Chairman | Group Chief Executive Officer |
Johannesburg
19 September 2016