Cape Times 2021-10-01

Edward West and Philippa Larkin Pick n Pay lost R1.7 billion of sales during the second quarter due to the civil unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July and from liquor sales lockdown restrictions, the retailer said in a trading update yesterday. Nevertheless, in an update for the 26 weeks to August 29, the group said that despite severe trading and operational disruptions, the group managed to “deliver a resilient and positive performance, maintaining underlying momentum on sales and earnings growth”. Some 212 of its stores were damaged or looted during the civil unrest, 112 were Pick n Pay stores and 100 were Boxer stores. It had reopened 145, or about 70 percent of the damaged stores by the end of August, and 18…

Financial services provider lifts headline earnings a share 513 percent to 3 447 cents Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za CAPITEC Bank Holdings lifted headline earnings a share 513 percent to 3 447 cents in the six months to August 31 and shareholders will undoubtedly also cheer the R12 per share dividend declaration, as no interim dividend was declared last year. Chief executive Gerrie Fourie said the results were “excellent” considering headline earnings per share were up 35.5 percent over the 2019 interim period, and the bank group had to traverse the challenges of unrest and Covid-19. Operating profit before tax was up 837 percent to R5.04 billion. Net asset value increased 22 percent to R31.96bn. Deposits increased 16 percent to R127.9bn. Net transaction income…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za A FACE-OFF is brewing between logistics state-owned enterprise Transnet and its organised labour nemesis the United National Transport Union (Untu) this week, which has accused the entity of unilaterally letting go of critical skills and experience through the voluntary severance packages (VSPs) that will see close to 3 000 employees exit at the cost of about R2.3 billion. Transnet on the other hand said yesterday that its wage bill, at more than 67 percent of its fixed costs, was unsustainable, though it was trying to retain critical skills. Untu general secretary Steve Harris this week accused Transnet chief executive Portia Derby of underhandedly approving all applications of the VSP workers, including 794 senior managers, which he said would leave the entity without critical skills…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za WOOLWORTHS South Africa (WSA) has committed to investing an extra R120 million in wages over the next three years, and has approved a 4.5 percent increase for South African store staff in according to the Woolworths (Woolies) 2021 annual report released yesterday. According to the annual report, the WSA base pay was last year 47 percent higher than the South African minimum wage rate and 13 percent above that of the retail sector. The legislated minimum wage is currently R21.69 an hour. “To further accelerate the improvement in the lives of WSA store-based employees, we will invest an additional R120 million over a three-year period to adjust WSA’s hourly base pay from R33.40 to R41.25 in 2023 – a 23.5 percent…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za BIDCORP Group delivered solid results and substantially cut debt as it navigated the impact on the leisure and catering sectors, in particular, of Covid-19 restrictions in the countries where it operates, chief executive Bernard Berson said yesterday. “The excellent free cash flow has been driven by good asset management, some asset realisations, while exceptionally nimble trading has underpinned the pandemic-affected results,” he said. Net debt, at R0.5 billion, fell from R5.6bn. Chief financial officer David Cleasby said in a telephone interview that the second and third quarters had been difficult in the northern hemisphere due to second wave Covid-19 restrictions, and following a recovery in these markets in the first quarter. Fortunately, the Australia, New Zealand and China markets had traded well throughout the year, he…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za DEBT-RIDDEN Ascendis Health, whose shareholders are scheduled to vote on the group’s proposed recapitalisation programme on Monday, yesterday posted a R1.6 billion after-tax loss from continuing operations during the year ended June 2021. The group said rising debt levels, restructuring costs and higher finance charges had contributed to the group reporting a loss after tax from continuing operations of R1.6bn. Normalised earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) from continuing operations, which excludes the assets earmarked for sale, increased by 120 percent to R14 million from -R70m a year earlier. Normalised Ebitda from total operations rose 18 percent to R1.45bn. Through the recapitalisation Ascendis Health, which focuses on supplying pharmaceutical and animal health products, aims to settle outstanding debt of approximately €444…