Star SW-2021-04-22

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za ZAK CALISTO, founder and chief executive of Karooooo, was scratching his head in puzzlement yesterday after the shares debuted on the JSE by trading at about a 90 percent discount to the Nasdaq price, before correcting. The South Africa-based international fleet and asset-tracking software company started trading at R59 a share in thin volumes on the JSE yesterday morning, but moved to R441 after midday. The share trades at around R500 on Nasdaq. The company has its primary listing on Nasdaq and a corresponding inward listing on the JSE, following a delisting and restructuring of Cartrack. Calisto said he was not sure why the share had traded at such a deep discount initially, possibly some shareholders were dumping shares for reasons unknown, there was some technical…

RENERGEN has entered into an agree- ment with DPD Laser for the manufacture and purchase of the first 110 Cryo-Vacc cases, following the launch of its Cryo-Vacc storage solution. DPD Laser is one of South Africa’s leading express courier companies that has been serving South Africa for more than 30 years. Renergen said yesterday that the key terms of the agreement are a fixed purchase of 110 Cryo-Vacc cases in a combination of all three sizes and the Cryo-Vacc cases will be delivered in May. The agreement has been completed ahead of the launch of Phase 2 vaccination programme for South Africa and Renergen has commenced construction of the 110 Cryo-Vacc cases for delivery to DPD Laser, which is expected to be completed by the end of May. Renergen chief…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za PICK N PAY plans to tap into growth opportunities in the rest of Africa over the long term as it announced a 4.3 percent increase in group turnover to R93.1 billion during the 52 weeks ended in February compared to a year earlier. Delivering his final financial results presentation after 8 years at the helm, outgoing Pick n Pay chief executive Richard Brasher said that the group was planning in a measured way to explore the opportunities in Africa. “I know some people are nervous about Africa,” Brasher said. “Africa is forever. We do feel we are well positioned in both our format and brands to have growth in all segments in the South African and the international markets.” Pick n Pay, whose rest-of-Africa business includes Zambia…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE INTEREST rates cuts cycle could well be truly over for South African consumers as inflation ticked up in March due to rising food and beverages, and transport prices. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday showed that the annual inflation rate rose to 3.2 percent in March from 2.9 percent in February. The headline consumer price inflation (CPI) print was in line with market expectations but still remained at the low end of the SA Reserve Bank’s (SARB) target range of 3 to 6 percent. StatsSA said the main upward pressure came from prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages which rose 5.7 percent in March, from 5.2 percent in February, the highest rate since October 2016. Fuel prices in March 2021 were…

INTEGRATED facilities management company Servest has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with eThekwini Maritime Cluster (EMC) that would enable both parties to expose unemployed graduates to the maritime industry by re-skilling and upskilling talented graduates to bridge the skills gap in the sector. Despite South Africa having a vibrant maritime industry, professional skills in many areas of the sector were in short supply, with many skills being limited to unskilled areas, a statement said yesterday. A study by Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University found that the oceans economy had the potential to create about 316 000 jobs and contribute R5 billion to the country’s GDP. In terms of the agreement, the EMC would be responsible for recruitment and selecting graduates who would be upskilled. The areas of potential…

HAMMERSON had reached agreement on the portfolio sale of its seven retail park assets to Brookfield for £330m (R6.57 billion) cash, representing an 8 percent discount to the December 31, 2020, book value of £357m. The transaction concluded Hammerson’s exit from the UK retail parks sector, a statement said yesterday. Hammerson also recently disposed of Brent South Shopping Park and its minority interests in Nicetoile and Espace Saint Quentin, which were sold in line with December 31 valuations. The transaction with Brookfield took total gross proceeds of Hammerson’s disposals in 2021 to £403m at an average discount to December 31 valuations of 6 percent. The proceeds would further strengthen Hammerson’s balance sheet, reduce debt, which was £2.2bn at Decem- ber 31, and increase liquidity, which stood at £1.7bn…