McCarthy Motor Holdings, part of listed diversified industrial group Bidvest, has introduced a new concept in car sales targeting the low end of the car market — McCarthy Student Wheels, selling used automobiles at prices of R55 000 or less. It provides reliable cars to students or first-time car buyers with limited budgets.
Listed retailer Edgars Consolidated Stores (Edcon) has teamed up with Standard Bank to offer qualifying Edcon store-card clients a MasterCard, the first credit card available in South Africa to carry no annual fee. The partnership will provide a credit card to Edcon’s customers who have a proven credit track record.
Listed fashion retailer Truworths International has reported a 31% rise in its fully diluted headline earnings per share for the year to the end of June 2005, to 140,8 cents from 107,4 cents a year earlier. The company declared a final dividend of 37 cents per share, which brings the total dividend for the year to 69 cents.
The latest data on building plans passed and residential buildings completed for the first six months of 2005 point to a sharp 43,5% drop in the number of lower-income, smaller houses completed and a 10% fall in the number of plans passed for such houses, according to Absa senior economist Jacques du Toit.
Distell, South Africa’s largest listed wine and spirits producer, has reported a 34,1% increase in its headline earnings per share for the year to the end of June 2005, to 245,8 cents from 183,3 cents a year earlier. The company declared a final dividend of 67 cents per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 123 cents per share.
Listed staffing and marketing advisory company Adcorp Holdings has reported a 28% rise in its headline earnings per share for the six months to the end of June 2005, to 87,5 cents from 68,7 cents a year earlier. The company declared an interim dividend of 35 cents, representing a 40% increase from the halfway point in 2004.
Sanlam Life, South Africa’s second-largest life assurer, will buy a 50% stake in niche life assurer Channel Life from its parent, PSG Group, for R116,5-million, the two companies said on Thursday. The purchase price represents 125 cents per share for Channel Life, valuing the company at approximately R230-million.
Listed gaming and hotel group Gold Reef Casino Resorts has ended talks with brewing giant SABMiller over its acquisition of SABMiller’s 49% stake in fellow gaming group Tsogo Sun Holdings, Gold Reef said in a statement on Monday. According to Gold Reef, SABMiller said its stake in Tsogo Sun is not for sale.
Financial-services groups Old Mutual and Nedbank on Thursday announced one of South Africa’s biggest information and communications technology (ICT) deals to date, which will enable both companies to achieve collectively cost savings of more than R1-billion over the next five years.
Shares in listed airlines group Comair, the British Airways operator in South Africa, continued to gain ground in early trade on Thursday, climbing 4,2% or seven cents as the company continued to reap the benefits of the damaging six-day strike at rival South African Airways (SAA), despite news that the strike is set to come to an end.