Star SW-2021-04-21

Sechaba KA’Nkosi sechaba.nkosi@inl.co.za OUTGOING Absa chief executive Daniel Mminele was forced out of his position after he disagreed with the board, chairperson Wendy Lucas-Bull in particular. Business Report can today reveal that Mminele was not given an option but had to leave over the differences on the strategic direction that he wanted the bank to take. Insiders claim that Mminele and Lucas-Bull clashed over the strategy that was already there when he joined in January last year. One claimed that the former SA Reserve Bank deputy governor wanted to adopt a more cautious and phased approach, given the impact of Covid-19 on its bottom line. He is also said to have preferred the consolidation of the bank’s market share in South Africa after it took a hit following a 5-year…

Sechaba KA’Nkosi sechaba.nkosi@inl.co.za In his own words: The group has delivered respectable progress over the last two-and-ahalf years against the strategy journey adopted in 2018, seeing significant traction gains in parts of the business. He explains: As agreed with the board when I joined, and given critical contextual matters, including the amount of time that had elapsed since we launched our strategy, the rapid evolution of our operating environment, and the impact of Covid-19, it was vital that we review our strategy to ensure that it remains relevant; and to make the necessary changes. The strategy review process investigated changes in the market, our performance gaps, and what was needed to thrive post-crisis. This group-wide and collaborative effort leveraged our internal resources and external thought leadership regarding seven specific focus…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za FINANCIAL institutions with a culture so unique that senior black professions are unable to transition into it suffer from a lack of commitment to change, rather than being “stuck” with a culture that cannot adapt, Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals (Absip) president Polo Radebe said yesterday. “When institutions fail to adapt, it creates a corporate cliff for black executives that, sadly, accelerates their exits,” she said. Radebe was responding to questions about the growing number of senior black executives in financial services who have stepped down early, sometimes not amicably, such as Peter Moyo at Old Mutual, the resignation of Basani Maluleke as chief executive of African Bank, and yesterday’s shock step-down of Absa chief executive Daniel Mminele, of which he said there had been…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za CELL C, SOUTH Africa’s fourth-largest mobile phone operator, reported a R5.5 billion loss during the year ended December from a R4.08bn loss a year earlier as impairments and once-off costs weighed heavily on the group’s balance sheet. Cell C said yesterday that it had incurred a R5bn impairment charge, which resulted in a 62 percent reduction in fixed and intangible assets to R3bn, compared with R8.5bn a year earlier. Once-off costs included recapitalisation costs amounting to R434 million and R248m towards network site restoration, the group said. The weakening of the rand to R14.68 against the dollar compared to R13.99 a year earlier had also resulted in a R237 million forex loss. Chief financial officer Zaf Mohamed said Cell C was confident…

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za PSG GROUP said yesterday that its investee companies produced a resilient performance as they weathered the Covid-19 storm in the year to end February. The group’s sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) a share marginally declined by 0.2 percent to R94.24 a share, and net asset value per share increased by 4.9 percent to R91.76 during the period. However, by April 16 and after the reporting period, its SOTP had risen to R102.39. PSG is an investment holding company that consists of underlying investments in industries such as financial services, banking, education and food, as well as early-stage investments in select growth sectors. Its shareholders approved the unbundling of 30.5 million shares, or 26.4 percent, in Capitec Bank, which unlocked more than R12 billion in value for its…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za LONDON-listed Petra Diamonds, owner of Cullinan Mine outside Pretoria, has recorded a 16 percent jump in revenue to $106 million (R1.51 billion) during its third quarter ended March 2021 as prices recovered to pre-Covid-19 levels and boosted by the sale of a 299.3 carat exceptional diamond in February for $12.2m. Petra, whose Williamson Mine in Tanzania faces allegations of human rights abuses, said yesterday that revenue during the March quarter was boosted by improved pricing and the carry over of 382 000 carats, of mostly lower value stock from the first half of the 2021 financial year, sold during January. On a like-for-like basis, realised diamond prices increased 12 percent from those achieved in the first half of the 2021…