Star 2021-09-01

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za AVENG has made a sizeable turnaround in the year to June 30, its first full-year profit in seven years, on the back of strong operational performances from Australasia-focused McConnell Dowell, specialising mining services group Moolmans and Trident Steel. Headline earnings came to R751 million, or 2 cents per share, compared to a headline loss of R950m, or a loss of 4c a share, in the prior year. Revenue increased 23 percent to R25.7 billion from R20.9bn. Net operating earnings rose to R536m from a R532m loss in June 2020. “Despite the uncertainty and volatility created by health and economic crises, the group continues to build resilience and has been buoyed by its strategy of diversification, improving operational performance and the firm commitment of leadership…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za HARMONY Gold Mining Company yesterday unveiled a R9 billion plan to extend several projects to drive long-term profitability as operations generated more cash on record bullion prices during the year to the end of June. Chief executive Peter Steenkamp said yesterday that Harmony had approved the development of the R4.5bn Zaaiplaats project over the next 10 years, the R3.2bn extension of Mine Waste Solutions over four years, and about R1bn for Hidden Valley in Papua New Guinea. “We have identified substantial opportunities in our existing portfolio through exploration and brownfield projects, which will extend the life of some of our larger and higher-grade assets, adding lower-risk, higher-margin ounces to Harmony’s portfolio,” said Steenkamp. He said each project brought multiple benefits and exceeded all the group’s minimum…

SA’s struggling power supplier remains in the red, with outstanding debt of more than R400bn Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za Eskom’s planned separation of its transmission unit looks set to miss the year-end deadline as the power supplier remained in the red, with its debt still north of R400 billion. The struggling power utility yesterday reported a loss of R18.9bn after tax for the financial year ended March 31, down from a R20.5bn loss the previous year. Eskom said this was mainly due to the very high net finance cost of R31.5bn for its largely unsustainable debt, which turned its operating profit of R5.8bn into this massive loss once again. Chief executive André de Ruyter, however, said Eskom managed to reduce its gross debt by R81.9bn this financial year – a…

IF THE COVID-19 pandemic has taught business owners anything, it’s that just when you think the worst has happened, things can escalate. Planning for the worst when you’re living in unprecedented times can seem daunting, but there are a few tried, tested and well-understood techniques, supported by technology, that you can use to ensure you’re agile enough to see out pretty much anything. It’s critical for businesses to make business continuity and disaster recovery plans if they hope to survive the worst. A Mecer study conducted at the beginning of the pandemic indicated that about 51 percent of companies globally do not have a business continuity plan, despite their proven efficiency at mitigating risks and helping businesses to survive disasters. Business continuity plans ensure that a business can keep…

GIVEN MAJOLA given.majola@inl.co.za ABSA SAYS IT has seen strong growth in consumer-to-consumer (C2C) transactions – exceeding pre-Covid-19 volumes – since the start of the pandemic last year. Omar Baig, the head of transactional banking at Absa retail and business bank, said the nature of the Covid-19 pandemic, compounded by the heightened hygiene and health requirements, had fast-tracked the number of customers adopting and embracing digital transactions. “Comparing 2021 with 2019, growth in C2C transaction volumes has increased by approximately 50 percent,” said Baig. The transaction types underpinning this growth include CashSend and immediate interbank payments (IIP). IIP transactions have almost doubled since 2019, said Baig. With CashSend, recipients don’t need a bank account and can access the money immediately at any Absa ATM. Cash can be sent using cellphone…

THE UPCOMING 2021/22 agricultural season was likely to be another prolonged cycle of favourable weather conditions and good agricultural activity in South Africa, said the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz). The chamber’s chief economist, Wandile Sihlobo, said South Africa had not had three consecutive favourable agricultural seasons in a long time. “The typical cycles are two seasons of large agricultural output followed by a notable decline on the back of dryness. The only periods in the recent past that had three successive years of conducive weather conditions and a large crop harvest were in the 2007/8, 2008/9 and 2009/10 production seasons. In this period, commercial maize production was more than 12 million tons each year, averaging 12.5 million tons per year,” said Sihlobo. A sharp decline in the maize…