Earnings drop at South Africa's Omnia on weak mining sector

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African diversified chemical services provider Omnia reported a fall in full-year earnings on Tuesday, dragged down by the ailing mining sector which has been hobbled by falling prices. Omnia said headline earnings per share, the main profit measure in South Africa, slumped 29 percent to 10.33 rand in the year to March compared with 14.56 in the previous year. The company said revenue was flat at 16.8 billion rand ($1.10 billion), while its Agriculture division achieved revenue growth of 13 percent to 8.2 billion rand. Revenue in the mining division fell by 15 percent to 4.6 billion rand on continued low commodity market prices. "Overall, market conditions remain challenging and some of the key factors affecting market conditions are as follows: softer demand in mining commodity and mineral markets throughout Africa and reduced mining activity in metals and minerals," Omnia said in a statement. Omnia declared a final dividend of 180 cents from 300 cents the previous year, taking its total dividend for the year to 360 cents. The company offers technical services which include "precision agriculture" methods that allow farmers to collect precise data about their fields, allowing them to make the best use of the fertilizers that Omnia also sells. ($1 = 15.2255 rand) (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Mark Potter)