Johannesburg — Brait SA held up well through a difficult operating environment and lifted its interim dividend to 89,77c per share from 89,45c a year earlier.

CEO Antony Ball said the private equity group measured its performance according to long- term goals, and since earnings were bound to be volatile given the businesses it was in, it was important to be able to declare a steady dividend.

Attributable earnings rose 6% to R77m, against a 73% decrease reported last year. Profit from operations fell 14% to R126m.

Earnings were hurt by a net R71m foreign exchange loss as the rand strengthened to R7,50 from R9,50 to the dollar, and targets were not met. Net asset value fell 7% to 1315c per share.

Brait was in a strong cash position of R353m, up from R280m.

Ball said the green shoots seen in many leading economies did not appear to have arrived in SA, which could be lagging by six months. However, lower-income cash markets in SA, in which some of Brait's private equity investments operate, appeared to have held up reasonably well.

A resumption of normal levels of profitability was not expected in the current financial year, but the challenging environment also offered opportunities as investors sought solutions in structured and hedge fund investments, and the ability to purchase private equity assets at attractive valuations.

Brait hoped to meet its targets in the next financial year, assuming the operating environment continued to improve.