Swiss-based, South Africa-listed luxury goods group Richemont has outperformed market expectations for its financial year ending March 31 2004, analysts said on Thursday, reporting a 3% rise in fully diluted earnings per unit of €1,193 and boosting its dividend by 25% to €0,4 per unit.
Engen Petroleum, South Africa’s largest fuel retailer, has launched its Dynamic Unleaded fuel in South Africa, the latest in its range of fuels marketed under the Dynamic product line, the company announced on Wednesday. From Wednesday, Dynamic Unleaded will be available nationwide at approximately 900 Engen sites.
Sanlam, one of South Africa’s largest insurance and financial services groups, and the Professional Provident Society Insurance Company (PPS) have formally extended the agreement governing their relationship, with PPS reaffirming Sanlam as its preferred provider in its endeavour to broaden its range of products and services.
KWV Limited, South Africa’s second-largest wine and spirits producer and exporter, has concluded an agreement with a broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) consortium in the local wine industry, Phetogo Investments, for Phetogo to make a share purchase offer to acquire a 25,1% stake in the company.
South Africa’s Advertising Standards Authority has ruled in favour of retail group Pick ‘n Pay regarding a complaint from a member of public that the company’s Hypermarket marketing campaign was misleading by claiming Pick ‘n Pay is "always cheaper". The authority found that the "always cheaper" slogan is backed up by independent research.
Listed South African retailer Edgars Consolidated Stores (Edcon) is optimistic that it will attract good investor interest, as well as a lower price, for its second securitised debt issue from its OntheCards securitisation programme, based on its customers’ store card debt, according to CEO for group services, Mark Bower.
The ambiance at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 14th annual Africa Economic Summit, which took place in Maputo last week, was markedly more relaxed than previous gatherings in Durban, as participants and the media fell under the spell of the Mozambicans’ slower but friendly pace of life and took advantage of the city’s excellent food and nightlife.
At an average of 2,5% of gross domestic product, levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into Africa are not as low as generally believed, especially relative to Africa’s market size compared with the rest of the world, according to the World Bank’s Alan Gelb. But South Africa in particular has recently recorded FDI flows that are well below their potential.
Long-serving Pick ‘n Pay director and disabled rights champion Martin Rosen, who was also managing director for group enterprises, has retired from the group after 33 years with the company. Pick ‘n Pay said Rosen, who was also a member of the chairperson’s executive committee, started at Pick ‘n Pay in 1971 as a trainee manager.
Alluvial and marine diamond mining group Trans Hex has no plans to reduce jobs at its mining operations across South Africa, Namibia and Angola despite pressure on its earnings stemming from the strong exchange rate of the rand against the United States dollar, according to deputy chairperson Bernard van Rooyen.
New legislation restructuring the country’s legal framework dealing with lending, in the form of the Consumer Credit Bill, is expected to be published within the next few weeks and should not encounter many impediments in Parliament, according to Bob Tucker, CEO of the Banking Council of South Africa.
Although the consensus view among economists and financial-market participants is that interest rates in South Africa will rise in the second half of 2004 in reaction to expected higher inflation, there is a case to be made for the possibility of the next move in interest rates being down rather than up, according to a Sanlam economist.
South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has launched the government’s Domestic Tourism Growth Strategy, a three-year plan aimed at encouraging South Africans to travel more frequently in their own country. The strategy was unveiled at the Tourism Indaba 2004 in Durban this week.
South African financial services specialist Sterling Waterford Securities is breaking new ground in the international investment field with the planned launch of environmentally linked derivatives. The group’s upcoming carbon credit note issue will be a world first, while also providing the first formal trading facility for environmental derivatives.
Shareholders representing 37,6% of short-term insurer Mutual & Federal’s issued share capital have accepted the R17,02 per share offer from parent Old Mutual plc, far short of the 90% Old Mutual required to succeed in its minority buyout. Old Mutual announced the results of the offer on Monday
Food retailer Shoprite Holdings will be announcing a black economic empowerment (BEE) initiative with the Department of Trade and Industry’s credit facilitation agency for small and medium enterprises, Khula Enterprise Finance, on Wednesday. Shoprite said the business venture will create positive spin-offs for BEE in South Africa.
Pick ‘n Pay Stores, one of Africa’s largest food and general merchandise retailers, is expected to post a 20% rise in its fully diluted headline earnings per share for the year to the end of February 2004 when it releases its final results on Tuesday April 20. Dividends for the year are forecast to rise by 17,8%.
Listed furniture, electronic and electric appliance retailer JD Group expects its basic headline earnings per share for the six-month period ending February 29 2004 to be more than 50% higher than those reported for the previous corresponding period.
The 2001 Shiraz from De Trafford Wines in Stellenbosch has received a rating of 94 points in the latest edition of <i>Wine Spectator</i> magazine, the highest-ever score achieved by a South African wine in the well respected publication.
South Africa’s unit trust industry saw total assets leap to R243-billion in the quarter to the end of March 2004, from R230-billion in the previous quarter, on the back of continuing strong inflows and impressive performances in many sectors for the 12-month period to the end of March.
Leading international drinks companies Heineken, Diageo and Namibia Breweries have finalised the shareholder agreements for their new joint venture company in South Africa, the companies announced on Thursday. The joint venture combines the sales, marketing and distribution businesses in South Africa of the three shareholders.
The South African Revenue Service (Sars) has requested the country’s four major commercial banks to introduce a payment validation system on each of their electronic banking applications to prevent incorrect electronic tax payments. Sars said on Wednesday First National Bank will be the first to begin in April.
Admiration for South African wines was on full display at the Cape Town International Convention Centre last week, but the country will have tough competition in an increasingly difficult world market. Internationally renowned oenologist Michel Rolland said "South Africa’s vineyard terroir has great potential and can even still improve."
South African-listed diversified industrial company Bidvest Group has made an offer of Aus$6 per share to buy out minorities in Bidvest plc, its food service distribution subsidiary listed on the Luxembourg and Australian Stock Exchanges in which it has an 81% interest.
Sales at South Africa’s 30th annual Nederburg Auction on April 2 and 3, arguably the highlight of the wine industry’s calendar, saw wine sales fall by 11,2% to R6,73-million from the record R7,58-million achieved in 2003, the first time a decline has been recorded since 1993.
The South African Revenue Service was just more than R500-million short of its revenue target of R303,3-billion at the end of the 2003/04 financial year, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel said on Thursday. The Budget deficit for the financial year is likely to be less than the 2,6% of gross domestic product estimated in the February 2004 Budget.
Old Mutual plc, the London- and South African-listed financial services company that is South Africa’s largest life insurer, has reinforced its support for troubled banking subsidiary Nedcor, while maintaining a tough line on its future performance.
Following this week’s approval by South Africa’s competition authorities, global energy group ExxonMobil and South Africa’s Engen Petroleum will be teaming up in a lubricants deal, under which Engen becomes the sole marketer and distributor of a range of ExxonMobil’s lubricants in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.
Two South African hedge funds managed by Peregrine Capital have come in tops in terms of investment performance in the latest Hedge Fund Review conducted by Nedcor Retail Investments for the 12 months to end-January 2004.
Listed financial services group Metropolitan Holdings expects to return some amount of excess capital to shareholders in its new 2004 financial year, probably via some combination of a share buy-back programme, special dividend and strong dividend policy, according to CEO Peter Doyle.
Johan van Zyl, CEO of Sanlam Limited, South Africa’s second-largest financial services group, says the outlook for the country’s insurance industry in 2004 is a positive one, and he is expecting an improvement in performance from Sanlam going forward.
Sanlam, South Africa’s second-largest financial services group, is expected to report basically unchanged pro-forma headline earnings per share based on a long-term rate of return when the company announces its results for the year to the end of December 2003 on Thursday.