Star 2021-11-22

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za SOUTH African-based investment company Pepkor (PEP) expects higher levels of inflation to kick in next year after supply chain disruptions added to its woes, causing delays in product inflows during the year ended September 2021. Chief executive Leon Lourens said on Friday that the backlog had been improving and stock levels were likely to normalise for the December trading period. “The group’s merchandise and logistics teams, in conjunction with its stable supply base, have done well to keep prices intact, but higher levels of inflation are expected towards the end of 2022,” said Lourens. He said Pepkor was building on its existing local partnerships with strategic vendors to develop growth plans in support of its local sourcing and manufacturing strategy. Pepkor, whose outlets were disrupted by the…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za USED VEHICLE sales are soaring, driven by demand for more affordable and economical vehicles, supply problems in new vehicle stock and a switch from public transport to owned vehicles in the Covid-19 environment. Recent data from Transunion shows that for every new vehicle sold, 2.64 used vehicles are being sold, which represents a significant increase over the past eight to 12 months, InspectaCar JV head Jason White said yesterday. He said InspectaCar saw a signifi- cant increase in activity with applications increasing by an average of 9.5 percent year-on-year. “After we moved out of tough lockdowns activity increased and InspectaCar advanced on a 16 percent increase in pre-owned vehicle sales in 2021,” he said. Motus Holdings, the biggest vehicle distribution group in the country,…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za THE POSSIBILITY of further load shedding and the security of Eskom’s assets hang in the balance as the utility and the national intelligences service pass the buck on vandalism reported to the nation by chief executive Andre de Ruyter on Friday. De Ruyter said power pylons were being cut down, coal laden trucks with fake authentications seals were discovered and acts of sabotage were evident in power stations. Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Philane Nkwalase told Business Report that there had been no urgent matter filed by Eskom to the elite crime investigating reporting division while De Ruyter on Friday told the media that Eskom was working in tandem with the Hawks to resolve urgent issues regarding vandalism on Eskom’s properties. “The last issue we have with Eskom…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za TIGER Brands, which incurred costs amounting to R732 million owing to the civil unrest and recall of canned vegetable products during the year ended September 2021, has approached the courts for an interdict against acts of intimidation by striking employees at its Durban facility. Chief executive Noel Doyle said on Friday that the strike was not across the group’s entire portfolio but could have an impact on the ability to service the market if it was not resolved. “We have lodged court papers because of the violence and intimidation that was experienced yesterday and to poten- tially bring the strike to a halt. We are also engaged in talks with the trade union and hope the matter can be resolved in the short term,” Doyle said.…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za PETROCHEMICALS giant Sasol faces the wrath of environmental activist groups after shareholders endorsed the group’s climate change plans during its 2021 annual general meeting (AGM) on Friday, where communities and shareholder activists called on the board to account for the group’s continued pollution and increasing emissions. Sasol is South Africa’s second-biggest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter after Eskom, and plans to become a net zero emitter by 2050. In September, Sasol announced its GHG emissions would be reduced by 30 percent across its energy and chemical value chains in southern Africa by 2030. This is up from the previous 10 percent target. The group, also in September, committed to usiing between 10 and 15 percent of its capital spending towards meeting the 30 percent GHG…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za The JSE HAS issued a public censure on the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) because it materially restated its 2018 financial statements due to “prior errors”. Sanral’s debt mainly comprises bonds that are listed and traded on the JSE. The borrowing limit approved by the government is about R47.9 billion, depending on CPI assumptions, and up to R37.9bn of this amount can be guaranteed. The JSE said Sanral’s annual financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2019, published on September 27, 2019, contained restatements to the previously published annual financial results, to correct a substantial number of prior period errors in line with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Sanral said in the previously published financial statements were due to, among other reasons, incorrect calculation…