Cape Times 2022-03-15

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za ABSA GROUP more than doubled headline earnings to R18.6 billion in 2021 after the economy recovered faster than the bank expected and credit losses were reduced, interim group chief executive Jason Quinn said yesterday. Headline earnings were also R2.3bn more than in 2019. A 785 cents dividend was declared compared with zero dividend the year before. High single digit revenue growth was expected in the 2022 financial year, Quinn said in an online presentation. The 2021 payout ratio was 20 percent, but the aim was to progressively increase the dividend payout ratio to 50 percent in 2022, he said. The group anticipated 2022 would be a year filled with uncertainty due to geopolitical upheavals, sharp moves in commodity prices and potential interruptions to…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za JUNIOR helium and natural gas miner Renergen saw its share price surge 5.6 percent yesterday after it announced an agreement with Ivanhoe Mines that may provide up to $250 million (R3.76 billion) in funding for the Virginia Gas Project. At R39.78, Renergen’s share price yesterday had rebounded strongly by more than 156 percent from its 52-week low. The company aims to become the world’s biggest helium producer, with plans to go into commercial production this year. Helium is used for space exploration, scientific applications, in medical MRI machines, fibre optics, electronics, telecommunications, superconductivity, underwater breathing, welding, nuclear power stations and for lifting balloons. Renergen said yesterday Ivanhoe Mines’ taking up of an initial 4.35 percent shareholding was a precursor to Ivanhoe possibly increasing its…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE COVID-19 pandemic has yet again threatened to disrupt global supply- chains as China has put major cities in the mainland under lockdown for seven days over a new outbreak of infections. This comes as South Africa’s government yesterday looked at ways to bring to an end the two-year-long National State of Disaster while putting in place some measures to keep Covid-19 at bay. Over the weekend, China placed more than 17 million residents in Shangai and Shenzhen under lockdown amid a flare-up of more than 3 000 new daily Covid-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant. Shanghai is China’s biggest city and a global financial hub while Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, is the hub of China’s tech sector and electronics manufacturing industries. Citadel Investment…

Tawanda Karombo SUN INTERNATIONAL is looking to online platforms to unlock further growth in its gaming and sports betting segment as the hotel and resorts division has only started to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company yesterday reported a 100 percent rise in basic and headline earnings per share at 105 cents and 106c, respectively, for the full year period ending December 2021. This was after its income across online gaming and sports betting as well as the hotels and resorts segment for the period under review went up 29 percent to R7.8 billion. Income for the group’s resorts and hotels segment, despite being up 39 percent for the full year period to end December 31 at R1.5bn, remains 39…

Tawanda Karombo PRIVATE higher education investment company Stadio Holdings has sprung to a 4.70 cents inaugural dividend, paid for the full year period to December 31, 2021, after raising revenues by 18 percent to nearly R1 billion. The dividend declaration for the period is in contrast to the previous year when the company did not give shareholders a pay cheque. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation for the latest period lifted up 100 percent to R309 million while headline earnings for the period rose to 17 cents a share compared to a loss of 8.5c a year earlier. The dividend declaration and the stronger financial position for the company, however, did not cheer up investors in the company on the JSE as Stadio’s…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za | Political Bureau Alleged anti-transformation practices at a tertiary institution is a cause for concern, and some analysts who believe it’s indicative of how deep the issue goes in South Africa at large have called for a substantive and systematic plan to address it meaningfully. The call was made following allegations of anti-transformation practices were levelled at Stellenbosch University recently. The university came under fire and was labelled a racist institution after its Twitter page showed a picture featuring mostly white women in celebration of International Women’s Day last week. The picture, which was removed after the outcry, was posted with the caption: “Theme of #InternationalWomen’sDay this year is #BreakTheBias, marking a call to celebrate the achievement of women’s equality. To mark this day, women in…