Omnia is looking for expansion and acquisition opportunities in the bulk explosives market to boost its growing international mining footprint, says CEO Seelan Gobalsamy.
JSE-listed Omnia provides explosives used in the blasting of mine tunnels in major mineral producing countries including South Africa, Namibia and Zambia, along with joint venture partnerships in Australia, Canada and Indonesia.
“We have no debt. We have a bit of a war chest. We have cash on our balance sheet and we have access to facilities of somewhere between R3bn and R4bn that we can spend if we find the right acquisition,” he told Business Times.
The bulk explosives market has been buoyed by the scramble for critical minerals to support the energy transition.
Gobalsamy said Omnia’s explosives from subsidiary BME focused on reducing the impact on the environment, making them more attractive for customers aiming to reduce their carbon footprint. He is confident in the group’s mining business’s growth after securing a number of new contracts in and outside South Africa.
“Our explosives use used oil instead of clean new oil, which is better for the environment. These are all things that customers want and look for.”
Omnia is setting up a nitrate-free explosives plant to be launched in the Canadian market in the 2026 financial year in partnership with Hypex Bio. It has also expanded its footprint through the MNK joint venture partnership in Indonesia.
Where will the future growth come from? That is broadly from our mining business in South Africa, Africa and across the world, and the agriculture business in Australia
— Seelan Gobalsamy, Omnia CEO
He said while dynamite used in bulk explosive systems contained ammonia, Omnia’s products were designed with hydrogen peroxide to make blasts clean, with no fumes or gases. “It is good for the environment; it is good for people working on the mines. We often talk about what is right for the environment and making sure our products are cleaner,” he said.
With operations in 23 countries, Omnia is also known for producing fertilisers for the farming sector. It boasts a strong market position in agri-business in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), with the biggest soil testing labs in the region.
It is predominantly an agriculture and mining business after restructuring its struggling Protea Chemicals business 18 months ago. Protea Chemicals’ output includes chemicals used in detergents, personal care items and food and water.
Gobalsamy said the mining business was the cornerstone for the company going forward. “If you say, where are we going as a group? What do we want to become and what is our north star? Where will the future growth come from? That is broadly from our mining business in South Africa, Africa and across the world, and the agriculture business in Australia.”
In the agriculture segment, products from Australia’s agri-bio business are sold across Africa and in countries including India, China, the US and Brazil.
The group this week reported a 12% improvement in operating profit in the six months to September at R900m, while revenue increased by 2.6% to R11.2bn.
Omnia, a 73-year-old South African company, ran out of money in 2019 when its share price was at R15. Six years later the share trades at R77. Its turnaround came after Gobalsamy joined the business alongside a new management team.
“Our vision and dream were to stabilise and fix certain challenges around capital allocation, around investments, disinvestments, managing capital well and promising our shareholders that we will deliver sustainable growth over those years. We have disinvested in some assets, we have sold some businesses and we bought some businesses,” he said.
Over the past five years the group had paid R5.579bn to shareholders and completed share buybacks alongside ordinary and special dividends.
“At the end of the half-year, we said we had R700m in the bank, which is usually the lowest time in our bank account. Our bank account goes up towards the end of the year. We employ 3,800 people, we have saved the jobs, there are lots of jobs in the value chain. We have been expanding. How many companies can say they are growing double-digit growth?”
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