WeBuyCars shares plunge 13% after shock earnings update
Listing on the JSE cost WeBuyCars R45 million.
Image: File
WeBuyCars says the 83 million new shares issued between February and April 2024 to fund its listing will adversely impact earnings for the year to September.
Its announcement on Tuesday about this adverse impact sent its shares sharply down by 13.5% to R46.73.
The company issued the new shares to raise capital before its listing on the JSE Main Board on April 11, 2024.
Its listing resulted in once-off costs of R45 million in professional, legal and JSE listing fees.
Despite this dilution, WeBuyCars expects basic earnings to rise sharply, to between R926.8 million and R944 million, more than doubling from R343.1 million in 2024.
Headline earnings are projected between R929 million and R946.2 million, also more than double the R343.9 million reported the previous year.
Core headline earnings – which excludes certain non-core items – are expected between R917.2 million and R958 million, up between 12% to 17% from a year ago.
Meanwhile, core headline earnings per share are expected to be slightly higher, in the range of 219.2 to 230.1 cents compared with 217.4 cents last year.
The company said its full-year results, which will be released on a date to be announced, will provide further detail on its operations, strategy, and the factors behind this performance.
IOL Business