Cape Times 2023-05-26

PRODUCER prices in South Africa are expected to continue decelerating in the second half of the year after the annual headline Producer Price Inflation (PPI) for final manufactured goods fell to its lowest in 18 months in April. This could signal relief at the tills is on the way as producers may halt their pass-through after the consumer price inflation also fell to its lowest in 11 months in April. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday revealed the annual headline producer price inflation slowed for a ninth consecutive month, slipping into single-digit territory. StatsSA said the PPI dropped from 10.6% in March to 8.6% in April, and less than market expectations of 9.5%, marking the lowest reading since October 2021. This April’s PPI reading was driven by the further…

AFRICA’S biggest casino operator, Tsogo Sun Gaming, declared a bumper annual dividend yesterday as it raked in higher earnings post-Covid and expands its hotel footprint, despite its income being dented by load shedding. In its financial results for the year ended March 31, 2023, the group reported that headline earnings amounted to R1.6 billion compared to R1.2bn the prior year. It declared a final gross cash dividend of 57 cents per share from distributable reserves. Last year the dividend was 19c per share. However, Tsogo Sun Gaming said the cost of diesel and the adverse effect on income due to high levels of load shedding, especially in January and February 2023, knocked the group’s expected year-end position and margins. “The cost of diesel and other consequential losses due…

MINISTER of Trade, Industry, and Competition Ebrahim Patel announced yesterday that Citibank South Africa has pledged R1.375 billion to develop a new infrastructure project in the Vaal area of Gauteng, which will include a new international airport. Citibank South Africa is the local branch of the US banking group. The group’s earliest presence in the country dates back to 1920 when the National Bank of New York opened an office in Cape Town. In a briefing, Patel said Citibank South Africa approached the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (DTIC) about complementing a mixed-use development with an industrial component to bring more services and create more jobs for locals. “The department agreed on making this possible using its Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP),” he said. Citibank SA chief country…

The rand weakened to another all-time low yesterday, plunging to R19.65/dollar THE RAND weakened to another all-time low yesterday, plunging to R19.65 to the dollar, surpassing the key R19.52 mark reached last Friday, after the South Africa Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago administered “bitter medication” to indebted consumers. Kganyago yesterday said the cost of borrowing would increase even further on the back of deteriorating inflation outlook due to weak exchange rate and the possibility of heightened power cuts. The SARB’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) yesterday unanimously decided to increase its benchmark lending rate for the 10th consecutive time in two years. The bank hiked the repurchase rate (repo rate) by 50 basis points yesterday, from 7.75% to 8.25% per annum, meaning that the prime lending rate will now increase…

LEWIS Group, releasing its annual results, said yesterday that its per- formance reflected the state of consumers in South Africa’s high infla- tionary environment, where its customers opted to shop on credit instead of cash. In its results for the year ended March 31, 2023, the group which owns stores such as UFO, Beares, Best Home & Electric, said credit sales continued to be robust in the current environment and grew by 18.1% while cash sales declined by 16.3%. Headline earnings per share increased by 1% to 857c, while sales in its Lewis, Beares, and Best Home & Electric brands increased by 3.5%, and its cash retailer UFO reported a decline of 12.5%. Lewis showed its confidence in the group’s cash-generating capability and maintained the total dividend for the year…

PREMIER Fishing and Brands saw a strong uptick in performance in the six months to February 28 with a return of the squid stock, improved catch rates and volumes landed and sold, as well as growing demand for its exports. “The group has shown resilience over the past three years and the measures that were put in place to safeguard its sustainability have paid off,” CEO Sooren Ramdenee said in a statement yesterday. Similar positive results were experienced across the group’s other sectors, notably South Coast rock lobster and deep-sea hake stocks, which had bolstered revenue. The abalone sector was also back on track with an improvement in the Far East export markets, with selling prices for live and canned abalone all increasing. These improved conditions saw the group lift…