Star 2022-08-30

Private education provider ADvTech expects to maintain growth and good cash generation in the second half of its financial year and is confident about continuing to pay dividends, chief executive Roy Douglas said yesterday. The interim dividend was raised to 23 cents from 19c the previous year. “ADvTech has delivered another set of strong financial results for the six months to June, 2022,” Douglas said. He said there were good enrolments in both the schools and tertiary divisions, reflective of a pan-African education business with a clear strategy and well positioned brands. The resourcing division also saw “a marked improvement in business activity”. Group revenue grew 18 percent to R3.4 billion while operating profit increased 19 percent to R612 million. Normalised earnings increased 23 percent to R365m, while normalised earnings…

Fishing company Sea Harvest’s interim earnings declined 10 percent on both losses in hake volumes from the recently concluded Fishing Rights Allocation Process (Frap) and a material increase in the fuel price. Headline earnings slid 10 percent to R182 million, while profit after tax attributable to shareholders of Sea Harvest for the period decreased 14 percent to R187m. Basic earnings per share decreased 14 percent to 67 cents. The group did not declare a dividend. Sea Harvest Group chief executive, Felix Ratheb, said Sea Harvest had a challenging six months to June 30, 2022. “We confronted tough macro- environmental factors driven by significant input cost pressures and supply chain disruptions. “The South African Fishing operation, the bedrock of the group, had to contend with…

HULAMIN, the Pietermaritzburg-based aluminium product manufacturer, saw its shares surge on the JSE yesterday by almost 7 percent after announcing robust interim earnings, boosted by growing demand despite operational constraints. The shares traded at R2.77 on the JSE and year to date, have declined by 42.22 percent. In its results for the six months ended June 30, 2022, basic headline earnings per share increased by 147 percent to 47 cents in the half year. Revenue rose by 45 percent to R7.9 billion, and operating profit improved by 144 percent to R223 million. No dividend was declared. Outgoing Hulamin chief executive Richard Jacob said: “The year 2022 began with solid demand, firmer prices than in recent years, and a weaker rand/dollar exchange rate. “Turnover increased…

STEINHOFF International is facing challenges in restructuring its €10 billion (R168bn) corporate debt, a situation worsened by the current global economic uncertainties that have driven up interest rates and contributed to fears of an economic downturn. The company’s debt is owed to various investor classes that have differing rights and obligations, executives at Steinhoff said yesterday, in a trading update for the nine-month period to the end of June. “The group has corporate debt totalling about €10bn. The debt is split into a number of different classes, each with different rights and obligations, and each class is held by a number of different investors – predominantly investors that focus on distressed credit,” said chief executive Louis du Preez. “The current global uncertainties have made the credit markets even more…

Policymakers and regulators have justified the registration of SIM cards laws on the grounds that they assist in preventing and detecting crime, but the laws have proved to be less effective than initially envisioned, as the growing number of unregistered SIMs have made it a significant obstacle, rather than a useful tool for criminal investigations. Registration schemes can be easily circumvented by people engaging in crime, who use fake identification, or register a SIM card in another person’s name. It is even possible to not register a SIM card at all. It took a quick trip to the inner city of Johannesburg for Business Report to determine how easy it was to buy unregistered SIM cards in South Africa. It cost a mere R75 for us to buy two…

Receiving a suit as a gift to wear on Christmas Day from his father back in 1989 is what triggered a passion for fashion in designer Calvin Shilabje. Upholding his childhood dream, Shilabje’s was set on shaking up the industry with his own designs of bespoke suits. Now, having dressed the likes of Teko Modise, Dr Tumi, Theo Baloyi and Black Coffee, the fashion designer and tailor from Pretoria has become a go-to haven for many men who need to look the part. Shilabje’s company, Style Gallery 85, has a studio for consultations, fittings and showcasing the tailor’s work. Speaking to Business Report about his fashion journey, Shilabje said: “Immediately after completing high school I started working, because there were no funds for me to further my studies. I used…