(Adds details, CEO quote)
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Bid Corporation Ltd (Bidcorp) BIDJ.J , an international distributor of fresh, frozen and dry food, on Wednesday reported an 8.6 percent rise in its half-year earnings, supported by positive trading conditions across all geographies in which the company operates.
The Johannesburg-based foodservice group, spun out of Bidvest BVTJ.J in a $5 billion listing in 2016, has been undergoing changes and buying small firms it can bolt on to its portfolio since its listing, as part of Chief Executive Bernard Berson's ambitions to reintroduce Bidcorp.
Bidcorp, which serves customers in the hospitality, institutional, catering and retail sectors, has pulled back from low-margin, high-volume logistics businesses globally, and started a rebranding exercise, trading as "Bidfood" to reinforce its image as a value-added food service group.
In the six-months to end December, it spent 588.2 million rand ($49.99 million) on acquisitions which include a 70 percent stake in a Munich-based foodservice business and smaller bolt-on acquisitions in Australia, Spain, New Zealand and Turkey, it said.
Bidcorp, whose operations include Europe, South America, and the Middle East, posted headline earnings per share (HEPS) from continuing operations of 640 cents for the six months till end-December, compared with 589.3 cents a year earlier.
HEPS is the most widely watched profit gauge in South Africa and strips out certain one-off items.
"Most businesses in the portfolio improved their performance in home currencies against a backdrop of low inflation and mediocre economic growth," said Berson in a statement.
Australasia, the group's biggest profit generator, had revenue of 15.9 billion rand, up 3.6 percent while revenue in Britain rose to 16.2 billion rand and Europe posted revenue growth of 19.6 billion rand.
Bidcorp declared an interim cash dividend of 280 cents per share, a 12 percent increase from the prior period. ($1 = 11.7652 rand)