Cape Times 2022-02-14

Tawanda Karombo THUNGELA Resources shares leapt 11.8 percent to close at R120 on Friday after an impressive trading update that reflected “blow-out earnings” for the full year to the end of December. Formerly owned by Anglo American under its thermal coal business unit, Thungela was a top performer on the JSE on Friday, scaling to its highest share price. This came as investors cheered the group’s earnings, with market watchers saying its valuation has shot up to more than $1 billion (R15.2bn) from an initial valuation of $253 million when it was bundled off Anglo American last year. The company advised shareholders via a trading update that per share earnings for the year period to December 31, 2021 are expected to be between R60.32 and R61.27. This…

Philippa Larkin philippa.larkin@inl.co.za THE Department of Employment and Labour on Friday filed papers in court against Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies’ South African unit for alleged employment equity violations, in what it said was a “strong message” to all companies operating in South Africa that they must abide by the law. Labour Department advocate Fikiswa Bede said on Friday that Huawei Technologies South Africa (Huawei) faced a potential fine of R1.5 million, or 2 percent of the local firm’s annual 2020 turnover (whichever is greater) for the alleged violations The case comes at a tricky time for South Africa as it seeks to attract more foreign skilled workers to the country, as well as – through the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and the Department of Labour –…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE GOVERNMENT has given the business sector much-needed certainty of getting the economy going again by setting a final 1-month deadline for ending all restrictive Covid-19 regulations. This comes as President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a radical policy shift to put the private sector at the centre of economic recovery and enable business to thrive by cutting red tape. On Friday the Cabinet announced that it had approved the final extension of the National State of Disaster to March 15 as some of the key departments dealing with Covid-19 had not yet concluded their analyses. Ramaphosa already indicated in his State of the Nation address (Sona) on Thursday that the national disaster would end once measures to manage the Covid-19 response were in place. South Africa has seen…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za THE elbowing out of taxi moguls Santaco as the preferred bidders for fledging airline Mango has raised more questions than answers, which some analysts have argued is a systematic elimination of competition for SAA, which has yet to confirm a collaboration. There are also questions surrounding the R820 million price tag for an airline that has no tangible assets. Business rescue practitioners (BRP) led by Sipho Sono informed Santaco that their bid for Mango was unsuccessful, in spite of the transport organisation being cash-flush. “The BRP of Mango evaluated all expressions of interest received in relation to the proposed transaction, in accordance with the evaluation criteria and principles set out in the Bid Process letter. “After careful consideration, we regret to inform you that Santaco Services…

Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za BRITISH American Tobacco on Friday delivered strong financial results, boosted by the continuously increasing sales of e-cigarettes and oral nicotine. The producer of Dunhill, Camel and Lucky Strike reported a 7% increase in full-year adjusted revenue to £25.7 billion (R531 billion) when it released its preliminary results for the year ended December 31, 2021. BAT reported a £2 billion share buyback programme for 2022. It also announced a small dividend increase of just 1% to 217.8 pence. Total sales were £25.7 billion, down 0.4 percent, with pre-tax profits up from £8.6 billion to £9.2 billion in the year. While the company’s cigarettes remained its biggest sellers, up £22 billion last year, but 3.2% lower on last year, BAT chief executive Jack Bowles said last year the business…

Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za FORMER SA Post Office chief executive Mark Barnes said on Friday that in his 2022 State of the Nation Address last week President Cyril Ramaphosa had opened the gates for public and private partnerships wider than they had been, and the message was positive. Barnes was reacting to Sona hot on the heels of the publication in the media last week of an open letter to Communications Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, which Barnes said he had penned four months ago, containing an offer to buy a part of the embattled mail carrier. Ramaphosa threw his weight behind the business sector as the job creator for the country, saying the government was reviewing the Business Act, as there were too many complicated regulations in the country that were costly…