Miners' mixed blessing – Financial Mail
Gold miners have mixed feelings about the presidency of Cyril Ramaphosa. It could usher in a more investor-friendly mining regime, but at the same time, hopes that SA will be better managed have caused the rand to strengthen. Mandi Dungwa comments. view article
Imperial's unbundling will depend on results – Business Day
Imperial Holdings posted “solid” results for the six months ended December 2017, as talk of unbundling its Motus integrated motor vehicle group from its logistics arm came into focus. Abdul Davids comments. view article
Discovery offer aid in public health – Business Day
For the six months to December, normalised operating profit rose 19% to R4bn on strong growth from established and new businesses. Discovery’s emerging businesses, Discovery Insure, Vitality Group and Ping An Health, swung from a R130m loss in the previous comparable period to a R66m profit. It is the first time that all three posted […]
Time to 'look at' Sasol US bet – Business Day
Sasol seemed on track for a strong 2018 financial year, after the petrochemicals group said first-half earnings could rise 17%. The company said headline earnings per share for the six months to December were expected to be 12%-17% higher than the previous year’s. Abdul Davids comments. view article
A new game plan for Sasol – Business Day
Sasol’s decision to invest no more money in either new gas-to-liquids (GTL) plants or plant expansions closes the door on several mega-projects that were being studied in Mozambique, Canada and the US. Abdul Davids comments. view article
How downgrades affect everyday South Africans – Fin24
Downgrades of the country’s debt by ratings agencies directly affect the finances of everyday South Africans. While Moody’s did not downgrade SA’s debt in November, it did place the country on review to be downgraded after the 2018 budget. Abdul Davids comments. view article
Rest of Africa strengthens PPC earnings – ENCA
PPC nearly tripled attributable net profit in the six months to September, to R294-million from R102m in the same period in 2016. A “strong performance” from its assets in the rest of Africa boosted its regional earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) by 25 percent as group ebitda grew 4 percent to R1.2-billion. Meyrick […]
Energy giant Sasol to balance growth and returns – Business Day
Global oil and gas group Sasol will no longer invest in mega-projects on its own as it did in the past as it targets a greater balance between growth and shareholder returns in future, executives say. Abdul Davids comments. view article
Tsogo awaits Cape Town clarity on casino licences – Business Day
Gaming and leisure group Tsogo Sun, which endured a tough interim period to end-September with discretionary spending tight, is hoping for clarity on a second Cape Town casino before the end of 2017. Dirk van Vlaanderen comments. view article
SA Taxi beats big four banks on loans – Business Day
Transaction Capital’s SA Taxi, which finances more than 10% of SA’s minibus taxis, continues to defy the ailing economy, posting double-digit loan growth over the past year, as demand for taxi finance remains robust among entrepreneurs who do not qualify for bank finance. Meyrick Barker comments. view article