Star 2022-09-15

CEMENT producer PPC’s shares tumbled 4.2 percent after it said that without a significant increase in infrastructure investments, cement demand in South Africa was expected to remain subdued. PPC clarified in a presentation to RMB Morgan Stanley, released on Wednesday, that it estimated domestic cement demand growth of 2.5 percent a year. This as the average selling price of cement increased by 5 percent during the five months to August 31, 2022. This was insufficient to fully offset the impact of input cost inflation as the cash cost of sales increased by low double digits in percentage terms, the firm said. “PPC will continue its efforts to counter input price inflation through price adjustments, operational efficiencies and improved industrial performance,” the group said. It also planned to…

SOUTH African office and retail property vacancies are levelling off as more people return to the office and shop more, yielding good liquidity, Growthpoint Properties said yesterday. Growthpoint chief executive Norbert Sasse said the company was “steadily optimising our SA portfolio” on the back of a “strong balance sheet and good liquidity” across its segments. Its total dividend for the full year period to end June 2022 firmed by 8.4 percent to 128.4 cents per share while group property asset values grew by 5.2 percent to R160.8 billion. Soth African real estate investment trust funds from operations for Growthpoint ended the period 13.1 percent stronger at R5.3bn. It saw a 5.1 percent increase in distributable income per share of 155.6c for the reporting…

BALWIN Properties’s share price leapt 8 percent yesterday after it said it expected its interim earnings to increase up to 50 percent, despite the challenging macro-economic factors and the construction price inflation experienced in the industry. The share price closed the day at R2.70 on the JSE. In its trading statement for the six months ended August 31, 2022, the group said consolidated earnings per share and headline earnings per share for the period were expected to increase by between 45 and 50 percent over the prior corresponding period. This translated into an increase from the prior financial period’s 24.95 cents to a range of between 36.18c and 37.43c per share.…

RETAIL sales rose 8.6 percent year-on-year in July, higher on last year riot’s base effects, after falling by a revised 2.3 percent in June, Statistics South Africa data showed yesterday. However, the large annual increase in sales volumes was primarily due to base effects, induced by the July 2021 riots, Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, an FNB Senior economist, said yesterday. On a month-on-month basis, sales were down 0.1 percent, while sales in the three months to the end of July were up 1.8 percent compared with the corresponding period last year. The largest positive annual growth rates were recorded for retailers in food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores (28.5 percent); retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods (13.9 percent); and general dealers (8.2…

It’s no secret that Queen Elizabeth II was a major fan of the arts. This was evident at her recent Platinum Jubilee, which took place in June to mark her historic 70-year reign. The event featured acclaimed hit musicals from across the West End and Broadway, including The Phantom of the Opera, Hamilton and The Lion King. One of her most memorable moments was a 2009 stunt when she and her husband of over seven decades, Prince Philip, were spotted inside the New London Theatre (now the Gillian Lynne Theatre) while on a private outing to watch the award-winning play War Horse. War Horse is a play based on the book of the same name by writer Michael Morpurgo, adapted for the stage by Nick Stafford. According to numerous reports,…

The last time Tamara Dey released music was in 2020 when she worked with Mobi Dixon on her single Lock Me Up and now, in 2022, she is back with a new tune, Disco Therapy. Dey released Lock Me Up in the middle of lockdown, independently. She is signed to record label The David Gresham Record Company and she’s working on crafting a new sound. Disco Therapy is an infectious dance song. Dey told IOL Entertainment that she wanted to get everyone out of their pandemic slumber and dancing. “I’ve been wanting to make music that is just uplifting and really musical and timeless. I think the world has been through a lot and I found myself moving more towards music that had all those elements and was healing and…