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Share in logistics company Grindrod fell the most in more than six years on Wednesday even though the company said it expects headline earnings for the six months to end-June to be broadly in line with the first half of last year.Headline earnings are expected to range at R567.6m-R617.6m compared with R592.2m in the previous period, the logistics company said on Wednesday.Grindrod said this represents an expected change of between 4.2% lower and 4.3% higher than the previous period.(Dorothy Kgosi) HEPS is expected to range at 85c-92.5c compared with 88.7c in the first half of last year.The company said reported earnings were affected by R902.8m in one-off net profit recognised in the previous period. These related mainly to the release of foreign currency translation reserves after Grindrod’s acquisition of the remaining 35% interest in the Matola terminal joint venture and its exit from the marine fuel trading joint venture.The trading statement follows a June update in which Grindrod reported higher volumes at the Port of Maputo in Mozambique and its South African terminals.For the five months to end-May, Grindrod reported higher volumes at the Port of Maputo and its Maydon Wharf terminal in Durban. In May, Grindrod signed a rail access agreement with Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager, allowing it to participate in South Africa’s Open Access Rail initiative. The company said the agreement would help improve the movement of cargo across its logistics network.The company said it is also working on several projects, including a back-of-port expansion at the Matola terminal, dredging (removing material from the seabed to deepen the shipping channels) at the Port of Maputo, and investment in a container facility at Richards Bay.In March, Grindrod reported record operational performance for 2025, with Matola Terminal volumes increasing 22% to 9.9-million tonnes and Port of Maputo volumes rising to 15.2-million tonnes. It is investing $40m to expand Matola Terminal, with the first phase expected to be completed by early 2027 and to increase annual throughput capacity to 12-million tonnes. The company also reported net debt of R38m at end-May, compared with net cash of R700m at the end of December 2025, while saying its balance sheet remained well positioned to fund its capital allocation priorities and growth pipeline.After falling as much as 13.8% in intraday trade, Grindrod’s shares closed 11.35% weaker at R22.25.Grindrod will release its results on August 25.
