Cape Times 2021-08-27

Group’s half -year profit surges 160% to R25.32.m surpassing its record Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za SIBANYE-STILLWATER yesterday declared a R8.54 billion interim dividend for the six months to the end of June after another record financial performance on the back of bumper precious metal prices. Sibanye follows in the footsteps of other mining companies which have reported record profits this year, buoyed by the commodity super-cycle on rising global demand following intermittent lockdowns last year. Platinum group metals (PGM) prices rose to an average R53 629 per ounce in the six-month period compared with R33 375 per ounce in the interim period last year. The world’s largest precious metals producer said that during the period it had seen a sustained recovery in production from the Covid-19 disruptions last…

Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za DESPITE stellar annual results delivered by Distell, its shareholders’ noses were out of joint after the South African wine and spirits maker placed its dividend on ice again, which saw its share price tank 3 percent in intra-day trade. The shares in Distell, which houses brands such as Amarula, Savanna, Hunter's Dry, Durbanville Hills and Nederburg, closed the day 1.69 percent lower at R170.01 on the JSE yesterday. For the 12 months ended June, headline earnings and headline earnings per share – a gauge of profitability in South Africa – increased by a staggering 227.3 percent to R1.7 billion and by 227.1 percent to 769.6 cents, respectively, while its group revenue increased by 26.3 percent to R28.3bn, this on the…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za WOOLWORTHS (Woolies) resumed dividend payments during the 52 weeks ended June 2021 after the sale of its Australian properties boosted cash flows and led to a significant slashing of net debt. Woolies declared a surprise 66 cents a share final dividend with a proposed payment in respect of Woolworths South Africa, representing a 25.8 percent decline from the prior year’s 89c per share. Chief executive Roy Bagattini said yesterday that declaring the dividend was a positive move despite the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We have paid our debt by more than 90 percent and we are in a very healthy position as a business, the healthiest position we have been in for many many years and that gives us the capacity to…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za ITALTILE, the manufacturer and retailer of tiles, bathroom ware and other home-finishing products, more than doubled its final dividend to 25 cents a share from 10c, and it will also pay a special dividend of 50c. It is the fourth consecutive year the group has been able to pay a special dividend, chief executive Jan Potgieter said in a telephone interview yesterday at the release of the group’s annual results to June 30. He said the decision to pay a special dividend was taken after headline earnings a share increased 77 percent to 140.1c, the strong cash-generation capabilities of the group were proven again, and after consideration of prospects for the year and capital expenditure requirements of R800 million to R900m in the new…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za FINANCIALLY-constrained consumers will be slightly relieved from paying higher prices for goods as producer prices eased in July, largely on the deceleration in fuel prices. Data by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday showed that the annual headline producer price inflation (PPI) for final manufactured goods was 7.1 percent in July from a year ago. This July producer inflation print eased from a 7.7 percent rise from a month earlier, and was slightly above market forecasts of 7 percent. Though producer prices slowed from a 5-year high in June, the July reading was the third biggest annual rise in headline PPI this year, and the third highest since February 2016. PPI for May and June recorded two consecutive highest jumps of 7.4 and 7.7…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE SOUTH African Poultry Association (Sapa) yesterday welcomed the recommendation for the renewal of anti-dumping duties on imports of bone-in chicken from the European Union. Earlier this week, Import and Export Control (Itac) recommended the renewal of anti-dumping duties on poultry imports from Germany, the Netherlands and the UK in terms of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964. Itac made an amendment to Part 1 of Schedule No 2, by the deletion as well as substitution of various items in order to maintain the anti-dumping duties on frozen bone-in portions of the species Gallus domesticus originating or imported from these countries. The imports regulatory body found that dumping by the three countries had continued in spite of anti-dumping duties of between 3.86 and 73.33 percent…