Afriglass shares sold to increase liquidity

Barrell said the shares were sold a month ago at R3,25 each.This information was only published by the JSE Securities Exchange SA's news service late on Tuesday.The number of shares sold accounted for less than 1% of the total number of shares and 4% of the directors' holding in the company, Barrell said.He said part of the reason the shares were sold was to increase the liquidity of Afriglass's shares.He said shares in the company were tightly held and that demand for them was strong.

He said upcoming legislation in Florida in the US would benefit the group's operations in that country. The glass maker and retailer recently took a 75% controlling interest in Florida-based company Gulfstar.

He said consumer confidence in the US might be down after the attacks in the US last month, but the proposed legislation to make having hurricane-proof windows mandatory, would help boost Gulfstar's growth.

Barrell would only say that the US operation would "substantially" increase Afriglass's earnings for the year. The company would export its locally made products to the US.

Attributable profit rose 26% to R51,4m, while turnover rose 22% to R540,7m for the year to June 30. Afriglass's stock rose 1,49% to R3,40 with 41500 shares changing hands in four deals yesterday.