Cape Times 2022-04-14

IN ITS CLOSING arguments at the Competition Tribunal yesterday, the Competition Commission argued that five South African liquified petroleum gas (LPG) companies essentially financed growth of their businesses through collection of a fixed deposit fee on gas cylinders, although the companies are refuting this. In the opening day of the closing arguments yesterday, Relebohile Thabane, an investigator with the Competition Commission, argued that the price of gas and that of cylinders were tied together, hence for first-time buyers it presents are pricing hurdle. She also said the purpose of the gas cylinder was now motivated by the companies’ need to fund their costs for growth through financing of more cylinders purchased by first-time users. The selling of gas is regulated in South Africa, with regulations mandating that specific cylinders be…

EOH IS “back in the black” and had completed its turnaround strategy, “an important milestone”, the technology firm said as it posted its results for the six months to end-January. In 2019, EOH embarked on a turnaround strategy after it was hit by a corruption scandal the previous year involving its senior directors. Headline earnings per share grew by 214 percent to 41 cents. The group’s operating profit, which includes continued and discontinued operations, amounted to R167 million, compared to the previous year’s R76m. EOH chief executive Stephen van Coller said: “We embarked on a challenging turnaround strategy for the EOH Group, and it has been a tough but truly rewarding journey. “Today we stand together as an agile and focused organisation proudly cele- brating the fact…

MR PRICE GROUP will be venturing into exclusive menswear retail through its R3.3 billion cash acquisition of a majority stake in Studio 88 group of businesses even though it is reducing its over- dependence on the apparel division. Mr Price yesterday announced that it had agreed to buy 70 percent of Blue Falcon Trading 188, which owns the Studio 88 group of businesses, from RMB Ventures Six and current management of the Studio 88 Group. The Studio 88 Group is the largest independent retailer of branded leisure, lifestyle and sporting apparel and footwear in South Africa, generating revenue of R5.6bn for the financial year ended September 30, 2021. The business owns and operates retail outlets that offer clothing, footwear and accessories, trading through Studio 88, SideStep, Skipper Bar,…

THE WORLD Bank has warned that South Africa’s economic growth could decline by 2.8 percentage points in 2022 from an estimated 4.9 percent recorded in 2021. The bank said yesterday that South Africa’s economy could be dragged down by persistent structural constraints and the ongoing war in Ukraine, in spite of entering the new year on strong footing. In its biannual Africa Pulse report released yesterday, the World Bank Group forecast South Africa’s gross domestic product to grow 2.1 percent, in line with the previous forecast in October 2021. The bank said the Russia-Ukraine war had added uncertainty to the outlook, as South Africa could gain if terms were of trade were favourable, but it would lose if the inflationary effects outweighed the benefit of high commodity…

TWK INVESTMENTS said yesterday that a PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc (PwC) probe into alleged accounting irregularities had dismissed 15 out of 16 allegations brought against the diversified agriculture and forestry company as a shareholder. The probe examined the financials for the period ending August 2021. However, PwC said apparent minor casting errors that occurred during the final inclusion of the full-year 2021 statements into the published integrated report, which would have no impact on the statement of financial position or statement of comprehensive income as presented. TWK Investments listed on the Cape Town Stock Exchange (CTSE) on November 30 last year. In February, BizNews reported that: “A TWK shareholder has demanded an independent forensic audit of the CTSE-listed former farming co-op because he believes one of Markus Jooste’s Steinhoff intimates, Piet…

ZEDER’S Investments share price rallied 9 percent in intraday trade yesterday after the market cheered the firm’s awarding of a 362.5 percent hike on its special dividend to shareholders as it posted its annual results. A special dividend per share of 92.5 cents was declared on April 12, increased by 362.5 percent from the prior year’s 20c a share. By 2.23pm the share price leapt 9 percent to R3.07, having risen 33.81 percent in a year. Anthony Clark, an independent analyst at Small Talk Daily, commented on Twitter (@smalltalkdaily), “New 52-week high in $JSEZED Zeder Investments to R3.01 +7.12%. This was on the cards for weeks as the special dividend was a pretty much given (92.5cps) NOW market acts so ‘surprised’ at the news…