JOHANNESBURG - South African conglomerate Bidvest Group’s full-year profits rose, despite tough economic conditions at home, thanks to booming sales at its food business in Europe, the company said on Monday. Bidvest, whose operations span auto showrooms, shipping and catering, reported an 8.6 percent rise in diluted headline earnings per share to 1,882 cents in the year to June, slightly better than the mean estimate of 11 analysts in a Reuters poll. Headline EPS is the most widely watched profit measure in South Africa and strips out certain one-off items. “Though South African businesses grew only about 4 percent, our international food services business grew by around 25 percent,” David Cleasby, group financial director, told reporters. Food sales in Britain and the rest of Europe now account for a third of the group’s turnover. Bidvest’s full-year sales rose 11.6 percent to 204.9 billion rand ($15.41 billion). Chief Executive Brian Joffe still sees good opportunities in China despite slowing growth there and the company said sales in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen had exceeded expectations. But the company is changing its approach to its home continent. “Africa has been a difficult place for us to grow into,” said Joffe, citing infrastructure problems. The group will now focus on getting partners on the ground and agents as it expands deeper into Africa, he said. Shares in Bidvest were up 3 percent at 314.43 rand by 1232 GMT, outperforming the Johannesburg stock exchange’s top 40 index 0.3 percent fall.