Star 2023-05-23

BARLOWORLD has exited non-core businesses and the focus is on organic and acquisitive growth in its industrial equipment and services and consumer industries divisions, CEO Dominic Sewela said. The group yesterday reported im- proved trading activity across most of its operations in the six months to March 31, which with cost containment resulted in a 20.3% increase in headline earnings per share to 578 cents. “The performance cements the decisions with respect to our strategy and focus on the core verticals of industrial equipment and services and consumer industries,” he said in a statement. The interim dividend was raised to 200c per share from 165c. Following unbundling and listing of Zeda in December 2022, and the disposal of the remaining logistics business, the key exits out of non-core businesses…

ASTRAL Foods CEO Chris Schutte yesterday said the government had failed the poultry sector, with load shedding and poor infrastructure and water leading to high input costs. Schutte was speaking to Business Report in an interview after the largest integrated poultry producer in South Africa posted its interim results for the six months to end-March, which were down almost 90% due to higher input costs for feed, diesel, energy, wages and overtime. The shares tumbled nearly 9% yesterday after it posted its results, hitting an intraday low of R155.09. The shares closed the day 5.01% lower at R161. Posting its interim results, the group said its balance sheet was under significant strain following incurring R741 million in load shedding related costs. It also reported that headline earnings per share…

He concedes Eskom does not have the necessary generation capacity The ELECTRICITY Minister in the Presidency Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has conceded that Eskom does not have the necessary generation capacity to avert stage 8 load shedding this winter! This comes as Eskom last week warned that there was a higher likeli- hood that the rising demand for electricity because of the cold winter weather could see it implementing an unprecedented stage 8 load shedding, if unplanned breakdowns should increase up to 18 000MW and if 4 000MW is taken off service due to maintenance. Ramokgopa yesterday went back to visit Kusile power station in Mpumalanga to receive a report, and inspect the repairs and construction project taking place there. At least three of the power…

THE RAND RECOVERED to around R19.25 to the dollar yesterday after touching a new record low on Friday, amid relief that South Africa’s credit rating was not downgraded by Moody’s and expectations of another rate hike by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to tame inflation. The domestic currency sank to a new record low on Friday of R19.52 to the dollar, surpassing the previous low of R19.51 set the previous week as heightened risk aversion among international investors supported the greenback. The dollar strengthened earlier in the week amid signs that US lawmakers were edging closer to agreeing on the terms to raise the US debt ceiling. However, these hopes were dashed on Friday when Republican negotiators walked out of debt ceiling talks. Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop said…

WE LIVE IN a time of technological disruption. It is therefore not unexpected that the excitement around artificial intelligence (AI) will also profoundly impact all aspects of business. Fortunately, as businesses start to embrace AI in their daily operations, they are beginning to realise the tangible benefits. Some of these are: Productivity and efficiency Over the past several years, businesses have endeavoured to automate as much of their processes as possible. Using machine-learning algorithms and other digital tools, businesses can automate repetitive and mundane tasks, such as data entry, customer service and inventory management. This can often lead to significant cost savings and improved efficiency. AI facilitates the process further by automating operations with equipment for knowledge-intensive labour. Complex business processes can be automated using AI. The overall benefit is…

ON TUESDAY last week I spent some time watching the co-founder of OpenAI, Sam Altman, the creator of ChatGPT, appearing in front of the US Congress. He was there to clear the air about all things Artificial Intelligence (AI). It was an unusual appearance and less hostile than many similar appearances by businesspeople in the tech industry. Not so long ago leaders of some of the leading tech companies faced very angry lawmakers as they were answering questions about misdemeanors by tech platforms. This time around, however, Altman appeared to be there to beg lawmakers to keep the AI industry in check. A few days before, another Silicon Valley veteran, Eric Schmidt, who now leads a US government tech think tank, indicated that governments had no capacity to keep the…