Cape Times 2021-06-09

Philippa Larkin philippa.larkin@inl.co.za CIGARETTE-maker British American Tobacco (BAT) yesterday raised its annual revenue growth guidance to above 5 percent for 2021 as the company enticed more customers to buy e-cigarettes and heating devices. The world’s biggest cigarette producer said the growth outlook was ahead of its predicted 3 to 5 percent guidance. BAT, the maker of Lucky Strike and Newport cigarettes, said that it continued to extract costs, rationalise and simplify its combustible portfolio and strategic brands now only represented around two-thirds of its volume. Chief executive Jack Bowles said this year was pivotal for the business, with accelerating new category revenue growth and a clear pathway to new category profitability by 2025. “We are accelerating our transformation to build A Better Tomorrow,” Bowles said. “We are creating…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s economy will have to ramp-up activity in order to achieve the growth forecast of 4.2 percent in 2021 as Covid-19 continued to impact growth. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday revealed that the economy failed to expand at a quicker pace in the first three months of this year. Headline gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2021, translating into an annualised growth rate 4.6 percent. StatsSA said key sectors of finance, mining and trade expanded and were the main drivers of output on the production side of the economy. However, agriculture, forestry and fishing contracted on weaker production in field crops and animal products due to load shedding and a decline in the supply of…

STATIONER CNA, which has fallen behind on payments to suppliers, is set to follow its former owner Edcon after it emerged yesterday that it had officially been placed into business rescue. Sources confirmed yesterday that Tashya Giyapersad and Simi Maharaj have been appointed as business rescue practitioners for the business, which has been in existence for over 100 years. The business rescue process is to help the group over the rough financial patch and possibly prevent strenuous legal action from its suppliers and landlords as it battles to keep its doors open. The retailer has been hard-hit by the extended lockdown period due to the Covid-19 pandemic as shoppers were scarce at malls and stores where it has a presence. The Edcon division was sold to investment group Astoria last…

TECHNOLOGY firm EOH said yesterday it had entered into a share purchase agreement for the sale of Sybrin to a consortium group for R334 million as it deleverages its balance sheet, continues to stabilise the business and pares down non-core assets. The consortium comprises One Thousand & One Voices Management (Mauritius) and Crossfin Technology and their black economic empowerment partners led by Isaac Mophatlane. Sybrin specialises in developing, implementing and integrating end-to-end systems and solutions. EOH said the transaction represented a significant milestone in EOH’s deleveraging plan. The proceeds, net of costs, would primarily be applied to reduce debt, with the remainder used for working capital. EOH chief executive Stephen van Coller said: “EOH acquired Sybrin in 2013, as it was a great fit with the EOH strategy at the…

siphelele dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE WORLD Bank has revised South Africa’s 2021 growth outlook upwards by 0.2 percentage points as the continuing commodity supercycle is expected to benefit from the strong growth and demand in China. In its June Global Economic Prospects report released yesterday, the World Bank said South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) would rise from a forecasted 3.3 percent to 3.5 percent. The World Bank’s forecast comes as Statistics South Africa revealed yesterday that the economy failed to expand at a quicker pace in the first three months of this year. Headline GDP in South Africa rose by 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2021, translating into an annualised growth rate 4.6 percent. Investec’s chief economist Annabel Bishop said the lift in…

STARBUCKS will introduce its reusable cup-share programme in all of its 3 840 stores in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) by 2025 as it seeks to reduce single-use waste. An initial trial will start in the UK, France and Germany, and expand thereafter, based on local operations, regulations and customer feedback. The cup-share initiative in EMEA is a key part of Starbucks’s commitment to reduce single-use cup waste and its goal to reduce waste by 50 percent by 2030, Starbucks said yesterday. Starbucks EMEA president Duncan Moir said: “We have set an ambitious goal to be resource positive ... we have a responsibility to give our customers new and unique options to integrate reusables in their day-to-day lives.” Starbucks will trial a cup-share programme, which allows customers…