Pretoria News 2022-10-24

SOUTH Africa might face “fuel shedding in the future, if it did not implement the Moerane Report recommendation of 2006 to keep 90 days’ strategic stock”, the Liquid Fuels Wholesalers Association (LWFA) warned last week. Peter Morgan, chief executive of the LWFA, said in an interview with Business Report last week that it was time that the country addressed this matter once and for all. “Sixteen years later we still don’t have agreement between the regulator and the oil majors on how much strategic stock we need to keep and how the cost of this strategic stock (will) be covered,” Morgan said. This was all about ensuring the availability of liquid fuels at all times, in sufficient quantities and at reasonable or affordable prices. South Africa had zero strategic…

TRANSNET has vowed to improve its operational performance amid a challenging environment following encouraging ratings action by Moody’s Investor Services. The State-owned freight and rail logistics company on Friday confirmed that Moody’s had lifted the review for downgrade it had placed on Transnet earlier this year. In June, Moody’s placed all of Transnet’s ratings on review for downgrade because it had become increasingly concerned over the company’s exposure to weak liquidity management and high refinancing risk. However, despite lifting the review, Moody’s changed Transnet’s outlook from ratings under review to negative, saying that an upgrade was unlikely at this time. Transnet Group treasurer Andre Pillay on Friday said this ratings action was a confirmation of the company’s improved liquidity position. “Transnet is encouraged by the ratings action Moody’s has taken…

Upward pressure from the higher-than-budgeted public sector wage bill FINANCE Minister Enoch Godongwana could not have foreseen that the global economy would go through so much turbulence when he tabled his optimistic budget in February, forecasting 2.1% growth for South Africa in 2022. The domestic economy was on a rebound having recorded a second consecutive quarter of upward growth, returning to pre-pandemic levels after two years of Covid-19 lockdowns. Russia had not invaded Ukraine. KwaZulu-Natal had not been pummelled by devastating floods. The price of petrol had not breached R20 per litre. Eskom had not intensified its rotational power cuts. Inflation and interest rates were on the rise but still very low. And Transnet workers were far from bringing the economy to heel. However, a short eight months later, the…

PREMIER Fishing celebrated its 70th birthday yesterday having grown from humble beginnings in 1952 into a Level-1 BBBEE group with internationally recognised brands, a fleet of vessels, and loyal staff, some of whom have celebrated a 40-year tenure at the group. What started as a collection of several subsidiaries listed on the JSE in March 2017 as a single group, and became one of South Africa’s foremost fishing entities. It was voted number one in the “Food, Beverages, and Other” sector by Integrated Reporting & Assurance Services, and it continues to expand, operating across four continents – Asia, Europe, North America, and Africa. Newly appointed chief executive Sooren Ramdenee said: “It has not taken me long to realise I have stepped into a company that truly values its people. It…

SPEAR real estate investment trust (Reit), which focuses its property investment on the Western Cape, lifted distributable income per share by 6.09% to 41.26c per share, in the six months to August 31, 2022. The distribution per share increased by 12.33% to 37.14c, based on a 90% payout ratio, from 33.06c per share in the prior corresponding period, when the payout ratio was 85%. Chief executive Quintin Rossi said in a statement on Friday that the management team had warded off inflationary pressures, interest rate hikes, operating “cost-creep” and general trading challenges, and defended the net property income line successfully. Interim collections stood at 97.56%, as measured at October 10, 2022. Management had successfully renewed or re-let 62 821m² at a nega-tive reversion of 4.08%. The portfolio occupancy rate…

AFTER a week of recovery in global stock prices, financial markets now await the European Central Bank’s interest rate decision on Thursday, the US non-farm payrolls next Friday and the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision next Wednesday. The uncertainty of the outcomes of these two events led to great volatility in most equity markets last week, as well as pressure on emerging markets currencies like the rand. The rand ended the previous Friday weaker at R18.36 to the dollar. During the middle of last week, the rand appreciated strongly to trade around R18.02 to the dollar at one stage, then slipped back on Thursday to R18.32 just to close the week again on R18.09. These volatile, but stronger movements followed world stock markets. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones…