Cape Times 2022-07-26

SASOL said yesterday crude oil supply had been partially restored at its Natref refinery in Secunda and it was on track to reach full production by the end of this month. The group said, however, in a production update for the year to June 30 that there may be demand contraction for its products in the year ahead, as higher inflation and interest rates will continue to impact consumers. On July 15, Sasol declared force majeure on the supply of petroleum products to its customers following delays in crude oil shipments to Natref, due to a force majeure at the loading port in West Africa. The other oil refineries in South Africa – Mossgas, Astron, Engen and Sapref – have all closed for various reasons, including for reasons of financial…

S&P GLOBAL Ratings has warned that Transnet could lose its market share to competing logistics groups due to prevailing operational challenges. The State-owned logistics company has a dominant position in rail freight and monopoly positions in regulated port and pipeline activities. However, Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) – the group’s largest operating division – lost more than 15 million tons of freight volumes in the year ending March 31, 2022, after it declared a force majeure due to irregular locomotive acquisitions, maintenance problems and massive cable theft on its coal lines. S&P yesterday said the operational challenges at TFR, compounded by the potential impact of rising inflation on operational costs, had led to expectations of its earnings margin to decline to 35 to 40 percent in 2022-2024. This would…

The MARKETS began the week on the backfoot as the commodity-linked stocks traded weaker after gold prices fell more than 9 percent, dipping below $1 720 (R28 888) an ounce amid renewed fears of a potential recession. The JSE All Share Index eased 0.5 percent to 67 749 points yesterday as investors continued to digest corporate earnings while the expected interest rate hike in the US later this week fuelled caution. US Federal Reserve chairperson Jerome Powell is expected to provide clues for what will be the Fed’s stance in the weeks ahead. The JSE Metals and Mining Index eased 3.1 percent to 44 507 points, with Gold Fields falling the most by 6.9 percent to R145.03 per share. Harmony Gold and…

South Africa’s power utility Eskom will procure surplus electricity capacity from its neighbouring countries and independent power producers (IPPs) in a bid to stabilise the energy crisis. President Cyril Ramaphosa last night said South Africa needed to urgently add much, much more capacity to the grid to end load shedding as Eskom has an electricity shortage of up to 6 000MW. The plan to import electricity from countries such as Zambia and Botswana was among the measures he presented. Last month, a combination of factors resulted in 18 000 MW of generation capacity being lost and forced Eskom to implement stage 6 load shedding. Ramaphosa said the country’s challenge in adding capacity to the grid was the time that it took for any energy project to receive the necessary approvals…

MR PRICE Group lifted retail sales and other income by only 7 percent to R6.9 billion in the 13 weeks to July 2, a figure that barely exceeds the average inflation rate. South Africa’s annual inflation for April, May and June averages 6.6 percent. The share price closed 0.02 percent lower at R178.04 on the JSE yesterday, but the price has fallen 20.6 percent over the quarter starting April 2022. Value retailer Mr Price’s total retail sales of R6.6bn for the period grew 6.4 percent, while other income increased 25.5 percent to R270 million, the group said in a trading update yesterday. The apparel segment, which made up 74.3 percent of retail turnover in the 13 weeks in 2021, increased…

ANGLO American Platinum (Amplats) yesterday declared a gross interim dividend of R21.5 billion despite its interim earnings nearly halving due to operational headwinds and social and geopolitical complexities. This is coming from the prior period of record results. The share closed 2.18 percent lower at R1 184.61 on the JSE yesterday, with the share down 29.26 percent in the past year. In the six months ended in June, headline earnings slid to R26.7bn, 43 percent lower, compared with R46.4bn in the first half of the 2021 financial year. Amplats chief executive Natascha Viljoen said: “The first half of 2022 has seen us largely mitigate the operational headwinds of Covid-19, global supply chain disruptions, managing electricity disruptions, as well as social and geopolitical complexities to deliver…