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Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za South Africa’s spectrum auction will finally happen within the next month after more than a decade as the government begins to embark on a widespread campaign to cut the red tape and improve the ease of doing business. President Cyril Ramaphosa last night announced a sweeping review of economic policy and regulatory framework as part of the government’s efforts to implement structural reforms. He said that the Independent Communications Authority of SA(Icasa) will be spearheading the rolling out of the spectrum to boost investment and create jobs. Spectrum has been one of the major hurdles for investment in South Africa. Delays in rolling out new spectrum auctions have been caused by fighting between Icasa and the department of communications. “The auctioning of high-demand spectrum is expected in…
Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za Things got a bit sweeter for sugar producer Tongaat Hulett yesterday after six former top executives, including former head honcho Peter Staude, along with a Deloitte audit partner, appeared in the Durban specialised Commercial Crimes Court yesterday on charges of R1.5 billion fraud. The corruption was uncovered in 2019 after a PwC investigation. Reistatements had to be made to financial statements in the years prior to 2019 of about R11bn, which the auditor, Deloitte, had failed to pick up year after year. Gavin Kruger, 56, was the Deloitte audit partner on the Tongaat Hulett audit, and the other co-accused were former Tongaat Hulett chief executive Staude, former chief financial officer Murray Munro, 55, former managing director of Tongaat Hulett Developments Michael Deighton, 57, ex-Tongaat Hulett Developments planning…
Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za SAPREF refinery, South Africa’s biggest crude oil refinery jointly owned and operated by BPSA and Shell Refining SA said in a shock announcement yesterday, they would “pause” refinery operations from the end of March for an indefinite period. They did not rule out the future sale of the refinery south of eThekwini, and said a restart of operations might be possible sometime “in the future”. The imminent halting of Sapref’s operations is another massive blow to what is left of the South African crude oil refining industry, which has for years struggled with financial viability from low government-controlled profit margins, rising costs, ageing plants, power interruptions, low growth in sales, and the need for massive capital investment to produce cleaner fuels. Engen closed its refinery in Durban…
Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za Ailing steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa said yesterday its strongest annual results since 2008 were buoyed by soaring steel prices, and after cutting its debt by two-thirds. For the year ended December 31, headline earnings of R6.86 billion recovered from a loss of R2.033bn the previous year, while headline earnings per share were R6.15 against headline loss per share of R1.85 for 2020. Revenue increased by 61 percent to R39.7bn due to a 13 percent rise in total steel sales volumes and a 47 percent increase in net-realised steel sales prices. Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) of R8.57bn compared with only R37m in the previous period, while operating profit increased substantially from a loss of R963m in 2020 to a profit of…
Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za ITALTILE lifted headline earnings per share 8.8 percent to 83.9 cents in the six months to December 31, 2021 as its mass middle-market either cut or deferred spending on home improvements, following a boom in this market during the pandemic lockdowns. System-wide turnover for the manufacturer, franchisor and retailer of tiles, bathroomware and other home- finishing products with 209 stores was marginally lower at R6.1 billion from R6.2bn. Trading profit increased to R1.5bn from R1.4bn. A dividend of 34 cents was declared, up from 31 cents in 2020. Chief executive Lance Foxcroft said: “Homeowners faced growing financial hardship, and the despondency and fatigue that we flagged at financial year-end intensified – and is reflected in anecdotal evidence of our customers in the mass middle-market specifically, who have…
Sizwe Dlamini sizwe.dlamini@inl.co.za THE chairperson of AYO Technology Solutions, Dr Wallace Mgoqi, has slammed the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) for applying what appear to be apartheid-era tactics to suppress transformation among listed companies. Mgoqi was reacting to two Sens announcements released by the JSE yesterday morning, censuring two former AYO non-executive directors, Telang Ntsasa and Mbuso Khoza, who were members of the company’s audit and risk committee in 2018. AYO listed on the JSE in December 2017. The JSE imposed immediate disqualification from holding the office of a director or from being an officer of a listed company for a period of five years on Ntsasa and Khoza. Mgoqi described this as extremely harsh for directors who were indirectly involved in the preparation of the company’s 2018 interim results. “The…
