Pretoria News 2022-07-27

SOUTH Africa’s leading food retailers have so far managed to keep their average price increases well below the rising inflation rate, good news for consumers battling with rising costs and interest rates. The Shoprite Group, South Africa’s biggest retailer, said yesterday its price movements had averaged 3.5 percent for the 52 weeks to July 3, with underlying product inflation contained to 3.9 percent, as a result of continued price investment. Pick n Pay said its South African internal selling price inflation for the period was restricted to 5 percent, below 7.1 percent Consumer Price Index (CPI) Food for the 18-week period to July 3. Meanwhile, Woolworths Food said yesterday its price inflation averaged 3.5 percent for the 52 weeks to June 26, with…

SUSTAINABLE black empowerment at the banks will continue to be hampered until the local economy recovers from the years of State capture, maladministration, political uncertainty and a lack of urgent economic reforms, the Banking Association of South Africa (Basa) said yesterday, It said the findings of its latest Transformation in Banking Report, compiled by Intellidex, which researched empowerment at the banks between 2017-2020, showed that in hard numbers, the narrative that banks “are falling far short of their Financial Sector Code (FSC) targets is based on an incorrect interpretation of the numbers, as guided by the FSC”. “This can distort facts and discredit the contribution of banks to the transformation of the financial services sector and economic empowerment in South Africa,” Basa said in a statement yesterday. It said banks…

A GROUP of women-led companies yesterday called for innovative financing within a variety of South African development finance institutions (DFIs) in a bid to support women in leadership, management, ownership and entrepreneurship. Women-owned businesses in South Africa are still in the minority in spite of statistics showing that they present a lower risk for business financiers. Jessica Espinoza, the chief executive of 2X Collaborative, called for gender lens investing to be a stand-alone focus in companies and not only an aspect of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), to maximise its advancement. Espinoza said it had been proven that investors make superior returns when they invest in women-owned and led businesses. “We would like to reach a state where gender lens investing has a similar status to ESG considerations due…

Measure will have impact on taxis, trucks and buses’ costs across country The RUBBER is on the tarmac as companies importing tyres into South Africa yesterday were up in arms against an application by the SA Tyre Manufacturers Conference (SATMC) to tax authorities to impose an anti-dumping duty on Chinese imports. The implication of the tariff hike would have a material impact on the vast network of taxis, trucks and buses’ input costs across the country. The SATMC, which includes the brands of Continental, Bridgestone, Goodyear and Sumitomo (the makers of Dunlop tyres), recently applied to the International Trade Administration Commission to impose additional duties of between 8 and 69 percent on the rubber rims of passenger, taxi, bus and truck vehicles that are produced in China. However,…

SHOPRITE Group’s share price gained 4.13 percent yesterday after it said total merchandise sales increased by 9.6 percent to about R184.1 billion in the 52 weeks to July 3. The largest supermarket group on the continent, which recently joined a growing number of companies hoping to provide bank services to small and medium-sized businesses through a new division, Next Capital, said 2022 sales would have increased by 11.9 percent on a 52-week basis taking into account the additional week included as part of the prior year’s 53-week reporting period. The share price at R218.01 early yesterday afternoon represented a 39.5 percent spike in the price over 12 months, a gain that was not out of line with the relatively strong operational update released yesterday. The…

Retailer Woolworths (Woolies) yesterday said its turnover and concession sales for the 52 weeks ended June 26 increased by a mere 1.4 percent – weak numbers compared to its competitors, who are trying to eat its lunch. This was reflected in its share price, which saw the counter up a marginal 0.11 percent to R54.65 in mid-afternoon trade, but closed 0.07 percent down at R54.55 on the JSE yesterday. Rival Pick n Pay yesterday said it grew sales by 10.7 percent in the 18 weeks to July 3, while Shoprite said its total merchandise sales increased by 9.6 percent in the 52 weeks to July 3. Woolies was once again knocked by the sales of its Australian department store group David Jones, which…