Cape Times 2021-05-07

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE NATIONAL Treasury has warned that South Africa’s debt crisis could deepen further and impact service delivery if the government does not cut wasteful expenditure, such as the unchecked leasing of property for its departments. Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo yesterday recommended that the government regularly conduct spending reviews to reduce the costs of delivering public services. Masondo said there had been a couple of “really frightening” reports on the costs that the government incurs in renting office accommodation. Masondo said Treasury officials needed to help guide the government towards a more sustainable footing. “When we reviewed leases of national departments, we found that 60 percent of leases were above the current market rates, and that the average premium being paid on these leases was about…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za SIBANYE-Stillwater’s shareholders can expect to continue reaping rewards from the company’s foray into precious group metals (PGMs) following a record financial performance and improved output during the quarter ended March 2021. Sibanye, the world’s leading precious metals producer, told shareholders yesterday that group adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) had jumped 78 percent during the March quarter 2021 quarter to R19.82 billion. Chief executive Neal Froneman said the group’s South African PGM business had delivered another record financial performance during the quarter under review. South African PGM posted a 90 percent increase in adjusted Ebitda to R15.2bn up from R8.04bn a year earlier as it benefited from the steep increase in PGM prices and a sound operational performance. “Adjusted Ebitda generated…

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za ANHEUSER-Busch InBev (AB InBev) yesterday appointed Michel Doukeris, an inside contender, as its new chief executive tasked with the mission of accelerating transformation and leading the world’s largest brewing company in its next chapter of growth. Carlos Brito, 61, has been leading the group for the past 15 years and has served AB InBev for 32 years. Doukeris, 14 years younger than Brito, has been with the group since 1996. He is the current president of AB InBev’s North America zone and will assume the leadership at the beginning of July. Brito has been at the centre of AB InBev’s growth following the acquisitions of rivals like SABMiller in 2016 for more than $100 billion (R1.44 trillion) as well as Anheuser-Busch in 2008 and Grupo…

THE RAND strengthened to a one-week high yesterday, rising 0.73 percent to R14.25 against the dollar, its highest level since April 29, before closing at R14.23, up 13 cents. The ANC on Wednesday suspended its secretary-general, Ace Magashule, which is seen as a sign of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s growing control over the fight against corruption. The US government decided to support South Africa and India’s proposal to waive intellectual property right protections for Covid-19 vaccines. The Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Waiver is one critical element in the toolbox to boost supplies of vaccines in the shortest possible time. It can enable the use of unused manufacturing capacity across the world and speed up the expansion of production facilities. The rand also made gains after the dollar fell from…

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za SAPPI’S share price fell by more than 6 percent on the JSE yesterday, despite the company recovering somewhat in the second quarter to the end of March, boosted by packaging and specialities performance, as well as a solid performance from the dissolving pulp (DP) segment. The share closed at R48.05. The diversified woodfibre company fell into a loss of $23 million (R331m) in the second quarter to the end of March, down from a profit of $2m reported in the second quarter of last year. Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), excluding special items, fell to $112m, compared with last year’s $131m, but an improvement from $98m reported in the first quarter. Chief executive Steve Binnie said Sappi was pleased with the steady…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za GOLD FIELDS expected South Deep mine, south west of Johannesburg, to produce less gold and incur higher production costs this year after taking into account the impact of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the group said yesterday. In revising the 2021 guidance for South Deep, Gold Fields said the original guidance published in February had excluded any impacts due to Covid-19, as these were indeterminable. “As a result of the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 on the operation during the March quarter, it became necessary to update the 2021 guidance for South Deep,” the group said. South Deep’s gold production guidance for 2021 was reduced to 8 700 kilograms (280 000 ounces), down from the original 9 000kg. Gold Fields…