Star 2022-09-08

DISCOVERY lifted profit 70 percent to R5.48 billion in the year to June 30, but the share price got hammered after no dividend was declared. Yesterday morning, the share price was trading 8.08 percent lower at R113.20 on the JSE, even though Discovery’s directors reported that earnings growth had come from strong operating profit and new business growth in South Africa and the UK, and from a particularly good performance from Discovery Life. Directors blamed the lack of a dividend due to market uncertainty. @TradersFrans said on Twitter about Discovery yesterday: “Brilliant results and then decided not to pay any dividends …” @SoulFairy3 tweeted: “Down 10 percent today. Still no dividend …” @Heyngwa tweeted: “Pretax profit is up 66 percent. Traders are apparently just…

THE SHARE price of South Africa’s biggest food producer, Tiger Brands, fell by 8 percent yesterday after it announced that it was recalling its Purity Essentials baby powder pro- ducts as a precautionary measure, after traces of asbestos were detected in test samples. The share price of the firm, which has a market cap of roughly R30 billion, fell to a low of R149.57 on the statement, but recovered later in the day. Products forming part of this recall included the 100g, 200g and 400g pack sizes of Purity Essentials baby powder, the company said. “The batch of raw material with the detected trace levels of asbestos does not meet the company’s strict quality and safety standards. Matters of quality and safety are an absolute priority for Tiger…

SHOPRITE did not offer the highest price for its proposed merger with Massmart. They were offering to take the full perimeter and thus avoid job losses. Shoprite’s offer was below the book value of the assets being purchased, according to outgoing Massmart chief executive Mitchell Slape. Slape said the full perimeter did not mean just the targeted stores. It includes a meat plant, and fresh produce packing facilities, which are internally focused on producing for the targeted stores as part of this perimeter. According to Slape, the below-the-book value offer Shoprite made is going to result in a write-down for Massmart. “Shoprite was so prepared to proceed to the next phase without knowing the impact of the civil unrest on the target business,” he said. Massmart was negatively affected by…

SENTIMENT in the business sector in South Africa has deteriorated further and remained firm in the contraction- ary territory as the manufacturing and construction industries continue to under-perform. However, there is uncertainty over whether this signalled yet another contraction in real gross domestic product in the third quarter following dwindling economic growth performance in the second quarter. The RMB/BER Business Confidence Index released yesterday declined further from 42 points in the second quarter to 39 points in the third quarter, the lowest since the first quarter of 2021. South African business confidence has been stuck in the low 40 points since mid-2021 due to a string of shocks ranging from industrial action to crippling rotational power cuts, the war in Ukraine, and the floods in KwaZulu-Natal, one…

THE PUBLIC Investment Corporation (PIC) said yesterday it has been told by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) that its former chief financial officer, Matshepo More, must be reinstated to her former position. This after the PIC – which manages R2.2 trillion in government pension and social funds on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund, the Unemployment Insurance Fund and the Compensation Fund – received the Arbitration Award from the CCMA in the matter between the PIC and More. More was suspended in 2019 on full pay on charges that she had neglected her duties. In October 2021 the PIC board terminated More’s services following a disciplinary process. She subsequently approached the CCMA for relief. The CCMA has ruled that More should be reinstated…

SABC2 drama series Muvhango is celebrating its 25th anniversary and is looking for fresh faces. Muvhango’s production company, Word Of Mouth, said they were casting the net wide and would be hosting auditions in Limpopo to cast actors. The show is calling for males aged 30-40 and women who are 50 plus to audition for two roles. Actress Azwi Rambuda, who plays Mpho in the show, said the campaign aimed to revive the show and bring new talent to the small screen. “One of the (production’s) ethos is opening up the industry, introducing new talent. “I am the product of that.” The auditions will be held today at Phalaphala FM in Polokwane at 9am. The show will have more auditions in Thohoyandou at the MGB Hotel in Sibasa at…