Cape Times 2021-08-11

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za THE EXPLOSION at Eskom’s Medupi Unit 4 this week will cost the utility between R20 billion and R40bn and about two years of work to repair the damage, according to energy experts, however, the state parastatal says it is still ascertaining the quantum of damage. The Eskom setback comes as the power utility for the past few years has battled to keep the lights on in the country and repeatedly plunged South Africa into blackouts that have bludgeoned the economy, costing the fiscus billions. Eskom said: “The incident occurred during the activity to displace hydrogen with carbon dioxide and air respectively, for the purposes of finding an external leak. Fortunately, no injuries were sustained by personnel who were on site during the unfortunate incidents.” Eskom…

JSE All Share Index rallies to breach 69 500 points on Naspers rally Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za STOCKS edged towards a record high again on the JSE yesterday, lifted by a rally in shares of South African heavy- weight tech giant, Naspers. Naspers was the biggest contributor to the stocks’ rally, rising more than 11 percent in intraday trade to close at R2 960. This was followed by its subsidiary Prosus, which was 11.2 percent higher in intraday trade to close at R1 364.13 per share. Naspers makes up almost a fifth of the bourse, with more than R1.16 trillion of market capitalisation, even after spinning off most of its assets into Amsterdam-listed Prosus in 2019. Investors have turned optimistic on the sector and were finding a…

Manufacturing sector gains ground at slower rate off a low base and civil unrest Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za MANUFACTURING production in South Africa is expected to continue growing well into the second half of the year from last year’s significant slump, albeit at a slower rate due to recent civil unrest. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday showed manu- facturing production increased by 12.5 percent year-on-year in June from a year ago, lower than the 15 percent consensus. This followed an upwardly revised 36.3 percent jump in May. This was the fourth consecutive month of rising industrial activity, although at a much softer pace than a month before due to base effects from last year’s Covid-induced decline. The largest positive contributions came from motor vehicles, basic iron…

Adapt IT chief executive and founder Sbu Shabalala resigns edward west ADAPT IT, the eThekwini-based software and computer services company that is the subject of a take-over, first from Huge Group and now the Canada-based Volaris Group, yesterday announced the resignation of its chief executive and founder, Sbu Shabalala. Earlier this year, Shabalala was granted three months leave of absence to attend to personal matters, following serious assault allegations levelled against him, which he described at the time as “without merit”. “Shabalala has since taken the decision to terminate his employment with Adapt IT and resign as director of Adapt IT and its subsidiaries with effect from August 6, 2021. The board has duly accepted his resignation and wishes him well in his future endeavours,” the company said. Shabalala had…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za FERROCHROME producer Merafe Resources closed stronger on the JSE yesterday as it returned to profitability and rewarded shareholders with an interim dividend on healthy growth in demand during the half-year ended June 2021. Merafe, whose primary source of income is the Glencore-Merafe joint venture, has soared by 104 percent on the JSE in the year to date after bouncing back from the Covid-19 pandemic. The shares closed at R0.93 on the JSE yesterday. The company swung to a profit after tax of R576 million at the end of June, compared to a loss of R961m a year earlier as an upswing in ferro- chrome demand contributed to increased volumes sold. Merafe said the higher CIF (cost, insurance and freight) prices realised were to some extent…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za IRON ORE, the main ingredient in steel production, continued its free fall yesterday as China applied the brakes to steel production as part of reducing carbon emissions. Prices for iron ore cargoes with a 63.5 percent iron content decreased by 3.75 percent to $167 (about R2 474) a ton, the lowest level since early April on weak seasonal demand and as some Chinese steel producers were told to cut output. Commenting on the slump in iron ore prices, Kumba Iron Ore’s executive head of marketing, Timo Smit, said the seasonal slowdown, combined with further steel production cuts in China, had put pressure on prices. “The authorities have signalled their intent to limit 2021 production at 2020 levels. This would imply a significant reduction in…