Discovery trading update, good, but confusing

Discovery released a trading statement yesterday, ahead of results that will be published a week today. The group suggested that normalised earnings are expected to be between 15 and 25 percent higher than they were in the last six month comparable period to end December. There are once off accounting entries that confuse matters. Discovery are happy with the normalised earnings measure.

Want to be confused by all the moving pieces, as a result of the Standard Life Healthcare transaction and their increase of their shareholding in PruHealth and PruProtect? Read this then: "As a result of the one-off accounting impacts described above, the prior period Headline Earnings and Earnings were also abnormally impacted and should not be used as a basis for direct comparison to the current period's results. Notwithstanding this, shareholders are advised that Headline Earnings per share is expected to be between 55% and 65% higher than that of the prior period, while Earnings per share is expected to be between 15% and 25% lower than the prior period."

The stock traded up over a percent to close at an all time high of 4748. A 28.1 billion Rand company. And a gentle reminder that this business is only 20 years old, and has only been listed since 1999, during that listings boom. And one fellow who has made himself fabulously wealthy in that time is the chief, Adrian Gore, who owns just over nine percent of the company. Good for him, Byron saw him running the other day past his house, says that the guy is in great shape. I guess he has to be. We will see him next week and confirm that!