Star 2022-03-29

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za THE GOVERNMENT-owned Central Energy Fund (CEF) plans to invest R1 billion into the Virginia Gas Project, South Africa’s only onshore petroleum production right, via the acquisition of a 10 percent stake in Renergen subsidiary Tetra4, which owns 100 percent of the project. Renergen’s share price closed 9.71 per- cent up at R43.15 on the JSE yesterday. The transaction follows hard on the heels of a strategic shareholder agreement signed between Renergen and Canada-based Ivanhoe Mines two weeks ago, and the share price has surged 36 percent over three weeks. Proceeds from the CEF subscription will be used to further the development of Phase II of the Virginia Gas Project by Renergen, with Phase I expected to start this month, a statement said…

Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za TELKOM said yesterday that it would go ahead with legal action against the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) over the communication regulator’s spectrum auction. The parastatal said while it had secured some spectrum, it was inhibited in bidding for the quantity of spectrum it wanted. “While Telkom has been able to secure the much-needed sub-1 GHz in the spectrum auction, we were constrained in our ability to acquire the amount of spectrum that we need to compete effectively,” Telkom said. In January, Telkom took Icasa to court to block the authority from processing the invitations to apply for the high-demand spectrum. Telkom’s hearing would be heard from April 11 to 14. It said the outcome may affect the auction and its outcome. Icasa concluded the…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za PARLIAMENT is likely to only receive a warbled response on its demand from the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) on the South African Airways (SAA) equity partnership deal with Global Airways that saw the Takatso Consortium taking a major stake in the national airways. The deal has been mired in controversy since it was announced in July last year. Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) last week instructed the DPE to provide details on the processes or lack thereof, leading to the uplifting of the Takatso Consortium as the preferred majority partner for SAA. Industry insiders said over the weekend that the deal was unlikely to be consummated as expected, because Global Airways, the majority partner in Takatso, had been doing “free shopping”, expecting the State…

THE NATIONAL Treasury has increased the allowance for retirement funds to invest offshore from 30 percent to 45 percent and simultaneously collapsed the 10 percent African allowance. This is a big change for the asset management industry, which, excluding Africa, had moved its offshore allowance from 15 percent to just 30 percent in the first 25 years of democracy. What, if anything, does the change in foreign exchange regulations mean for your investment strategy? Surprisingly, in the short term, perhaps not much. Post the regulatory change, we engaged 14 asset management companies in the multi-asset mandates we make use of, and none intended to increase their foreign exposure in the short term, given their view that valuations still favoured South African assets. We suspect, though,…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za ADvTECH, the private education group, is likely to continue its robust growth trend and good cash generation after reinstating its dividend payment ratio in the year to December 31 to the same level as before the disruption caused by Covid-19, chief executive Roy Douglas said yesterday. A final dividend of 31 cents was declared, bringing the full year dividend to 50c (2020: 20c) a share. The group lifted normalised earnings per share by 35 percent to 121.5c after good enrolment growth, a signifi- cant improvement in collections and better efficiencies. Douglas said ADvTECH had delivered strong results, reinforcing a consistent performance and highlighting its robust business model. “We continue to benefit by revising structures, improving systems, enhancing our technological capability and strong financial management,” he…

Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za HULAMIN, a manufacturer of rolled aluminium products, yesterday re- leased stellar results bolstered by robust demand for aluminium products. Its results for the year ended December 31 showed operating profit jumped 760 percent to R538 million from a loss of R81m in the previous year. Group sales volumes increased by 34 percent to 222 000 tons, revenue grew by 52 percent to R13 billion, free cash flow from operating activities improved by 166 percent to R239m, and basic earnings per share increased by 347 percent to reach R1.92 cents. Normalised earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation, which excludes the metal price lag, increased by 254 percent. Headline earnings improved to R560m from a R220m loss in…