FirstRand on track to open Ghana bank – Business Day
FirstRand, SA’s largest bank by earnings and market capitalisation, hopes to set up a fully fledged bank in Ghana early next year and has R10.2bn in surplus capital to invest in its growing operations in countries such as Mozambique, Nigeria, Zambia and India. Jihad Jhaveri comments on the company’s annual results. view article
Sasol pours oil on fears of forced retrenchments in SA – Business Report
Sasol allayed the fears of forced retrenchments in South Africa yesterday, as it rolled out its restructuring programme in which it has raised its target for cost cuts to at least R4 billion a year by 2016. Sasol was looking to southern Africa and North America for gas and chemicals growth opportunities and had set aside […]
Pioneer Foods spins off poultry – Business Report
Seeking a dignified exit from the constrained poultry sector, Pioneer Foods has finally managed to unbundle and list Quantum Foods as a separate entity. Quantum Foods is now a self-contained listed business within the Pioneer Foods group with a focus on animal feeds, eggs, and broilers, among other operations. Victor Seanie comments on the unbundling. view […]
Pioneer reverses gains on 'dispiriting' trading update – Business Day
Following a 5.38% rally on Wednesday, shares in Pioneer Food Group shed 4.74% to close at R122 on Thursday, despite the food and beverage group saying its full-year earnings would be more than 20% better than previously. Analysts said Pioneer’s trading update may have disappointed the market, given weak sentiment and expectations for a greater jump […]
Discovery business model affords growth, says CEO – Business Day
Discovery’s business model lends itself to opening new businesses, giving it the potential to grow profit at about 20% a year, CEO Adrian Gore said yesterday. Discovery reported operating profit increased 23% to R5bn in the year to June. Operating profit growth has averaged 22% a year over the past 10 years. The insurer views […]
Bidvest decries tough trading climate in SA – Business Day
Trading conditions in SA in the last quarter “became increasingly disruptive, compounded by the detrimental effects of prolonged labour unrest and declining consumer demand”, Bidvest said in its results for the year ended June. Dirk van Vlaanderen comments on the company’s results view article
PMI improves, but economy still in contraction mode – The New Age
South Africa’s key manufacturing index, the Kagiso Purchasing Mangers’ Index (PMI) – for August – reflected slight recovery, rising by 3.1 index points to 49.0 from 45.9 in July. However, it is still below the 50 mark, signalling contraction. Abdul Davids comments. view article
Tighter consumer spending hits Massmart sales – Business Report
Massmart’s Game stores are taking a beating from the slowdown in consumer spending, as shopping patterns show a shift towards necessities such as food and clothing. Massmart chief executive Guy Hayward said the consumer environment had dramatically hardened in the past few years, changing the way consumers were shopping. Dirk van Vlaanderen comments. view article
Massmart takes knock from Game – Business Day
Massmart’s Game continued to underperform, weighing on profitability, as sales of durable goods fell due to pressure on consumers. “As middle- and lower-income customers are struggling, selling them general merchandise and durables is very, very difficult. Customers don’t have enough money so they’re spending it on food and increasingly less on durables,” Massmart CEO Guy […]
A new leaf, or pulp fiction – Business Day Investors Monthly
A burden of debt lies on Sappi, but since the group’s repositioning, faith in it seems to be increasing. Abdul Davids comments on Sappi in this feature article. view article