Cape Times 2023-02-10

IT IS VERY difficult to find evidence supporting the conclusion that André de Ruyter’s three-year tenure as Eskom chief executive has stabilised and improved the power utility. In fact, De Ruyter’s tenure has seen Eskom deteriorating further into the abyss despite a number of opportunities he was presented with to salvage the crisis. So, in order to measure his performance at the helm of Eskom, let us go down the rabbit hole and look at how De Ruyter fared in 10 key metrics, in no particular order. 1. Leadership Though he was punted as a “turn-around strategist” due to a career spanning more than 30 years in senior management roles, it quickly became evident that he was out of his depth at Eskom. Apathetic behaviour by some management has exacerbated…

THE GOVERNMENT’S intention to declare the energy crisis a national state of disaster is not likely to spook investors and it may not result in the immediate end of load shedding. This is the view of Momentum Investments economist Sanisha Packirisamy who weighed in on the raging debate about declaring a state of disaster at Eskom. This comes after the weekend’s Cabinet lekgotla, which met to evaluate the legal requirements that should be met by the government before taking such a decision in a bid to help end crippling power cuts. Speaking to Business Report yesterday, Packirisamy said a state of disaster would likely speed up the time lines for any regulatory and legislative issues. However, Packirisamy said by doing so, a number of stakeholders might not actually get the…

Ramaphosa last night said that restoring energy security was the government’s most immediate priority THE SOUTH African government has taken the bold but controversial step to declare the ongoing energy crisis as a National State of Disaster and will be appointing a new Minister of Electricity dedicated to ending load shedding. These were the most prominent measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) in Parliament in Cape Town last night. South Africa is currently in the grip of an enduring electricity crisis which has crippled economic activity and stunted growth forecasts as a result of breakdowns of Eskom’s coal fleet. Ramaphosa yesterday said that restoring energy security was the government’s most immediate priority in this Sona, adding that the energy crisis was an…

THE SHARES of British American Tobacco (BAT), a favoured stock among South African asset managers, closed 2.42% lower at R645 on the JSE yesterday, even though the stock market in London, where it is also listed, rose to just shy of its all-time highs. BAT reported a 7.7% rise in revenue to £27.6 billion (R587.2bn) for the year to December 31, 2022, while operating profit was up 2.8% to £10.5bn, but diluted earnings per share fell 1.3% to 291.9 pence. The group forecast a 3% to 5% organic constant currency growth in revenue for 2023, a year during which global tobacco industry volumes were expected to decline 2%. Management said the push to sell more “New Category” tobacco pro- ducts, such as vapes and electronic cigarettes, boosted revenue for…

SPUR CORPORATION said yesterday it had managed to achieve a strong performance for its half year, despite the impact of load shedding and higher inflation. In its trading statement for the six months ended December 31, 2022, the group said franchised restaurant sales for the period were 31.5% higher than the already improved sales base achieved in the six months to December 2021. Sales for the period were 21.1% higher than the six months from January 2022 to June 2022. “This is evidence that the group’s strategic direction is gaining momentum,” it said. South African market conditions remained challenging, with higher inflation and a dramatic increase in the level of load-shedding hours, which directly affected the supply chain. “Despite the mounting pressure on disposable income, the group continued to…

KAAP AGRI, the agricultural retail services group, increased revenue 73.8% in the first quarter of its 2023 financial year, chief executive Sean Walsh said in a voluntary update released yesterday at its annual meeting. The share price closed 3.09% higher at R41.75 on the JSE yesterday. On a like-for-like basis, excluding newly acquired PEG Retail Holdings, revenue increased 17.8% compared to the first three months of the prior year, due to slow retail and agri performance, while inflation was at 26%, and at 12.5% when excluding the impact of fuel price inflation. Transaction growth was at 6.3% and increased by 193.6% when including PEG. Gross profit growth was below turnover growth, largely due to fuel price inflation and lower fuel price opportunity profits realised, said Walsh. Total group fuel litres…