Sasol decides to delay plant to investor fanfare – Business Report
Investors yesterday cheered Sasol’s decision to delay development of its $14 billion (R1611n) gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in Louisiana in the US amid the falling oil price, which has declined over 50 percent in the last six months. The announcement caused Sasol’s shares to gain as much as 2.7 percent to R427.54. However, Sasol’s share closed […]
China weather dents SABMiller quarterly beer sales – Business Day
SABMiller’s weather-related woes in China spilled over into the brewer’s third quarter ended December, the company said yesterday in a trading update that showed its total beer volumes are on track to shrink in its 2015 financial year. SABMiller’s lager volumes were 1% lower in its third quarter after a similar contraction in the first […]
Tighter belts are in – Financial Mail
SA retailers will have to continue battling it out on price for most of this year as consumers remain under pressure from high debt levels and lower disposable income. The decline in oil prices is expected to boost consumer confidence, but analysts caution that growth in employment and wages will remain subdued. Furthermore, the scheduled […]
Tough year ahead for SA retailers, warn experts – Business Report
Food retailers have started the year on a solid footing with good trading results for the festive season. However, they would have to work hard to raise their game in the new year as consumers would find themselves in more financial trouble than the previous year, according to equity analysts. Dirk van Vlaanderen comments on Massmart. […]
Australian deal props up Woolworths sales – Business Day
Woolworths’ food and clothing sales grew at a slower pace on a like-for-like stores basis in the 26 weeks to December 28 compared with a year ago, the company’s trading update released on Thursday shows. But thanks to its R23.3bn takeover of Australian department chain David Jones (DJs), Woolworths’ sales rose 55.2% in the first […]
December PMI inches lower, but remains above neutral 50-point mark – Engineering News
Despite declining by 3.3 index points in December, the seasonally adjusted Kagiso Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) ended the year marginally above the neutral 50-point mark, at 50.2. During the second and third quarters of 2014, the PMI languished below 50, but the average reading for the fourth quarter came in at 51.2 index points compared […]
Led by the dollar gold price – Financial Mail
Harmony Gold Mining’s decision to scale back, though not abandon, its Golpu project in Papua New Guinea is typical of the capital expenditure cuts being forced upon the gold industry by a period of prolonged low prices. Harmony and its partner in Golpu, Newcrest Mining, are looking beyond current gold prices, and investors have responded […]
