Star 2023-07-21

NORTHAM Platinum plans to sell its 34.5% stake in Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) for R9 billion to its rival Impala Platinum due to a decrease in platinum group metals (PGM) prices, which led to adverse market developments. In a statement, Northam, which had been a contender in the takeover bid of RBPlat that was won by Implats, said it has submitted its acceptance of the Implats Mandatory Offer in respect of all of the 100.2 million RBPlat shares held by Northam Holdings. Northam withdrew from its proposed acquisition of RBPlat in April. Northam CEO Paul Dunne said: “The prevailing PGM market conditions and the material decline in the PGM basket price during, in particular, the last four months may signal a potentially protracted cyclical downturn. “Relative positioning on the…

SOUTH African businesses remain pessimistic about trade conditions in the next six months as sentiment was still firmly in contractionary levels in June, in spite of an expected improvement in sales in the months ahead. The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) yesterday said trade conditions remained largely unchanged in June, maintaining a slightly negative trend consistent with the first six months of 2023. The survey is conducted by Sacci among its members who are some of the biggest companies in South Africa and the largest employers. While there were occasional posi- tive seasonal fluctuations, Sacci said overall trade conditions did not show significant improvement. In June, approximately 55% of respondents anticipated an improvement in trade activities over the next six months, a slight decrease compared with the…

POULTRY producers are subsidising the consumer by at least R3 per kilo of chicken as production costs spiral, aided by the cost of load shedding which has added R1.50 per kilo in the producer price, participants at an industry discussion heard yesterday. South African Poultry Association (Sapa) CEO Izaak Breitenbach said the cost of load shedding had added 10% of overheads to the large producers who had to provide their own electricity backup plans while smaller producers had seen a spike of 20% in overheads. This is as the industry awaits a decision by the Minister for Trade Industry and Competition who last July suspended import tariffs on frozen bone-in-imports from Brazil, Denmark, Ireland, Poland, and Spain for a year and is due to make a decision next month…

But the MPC’s message must be interpreted as a ‘hawkish pause’, says economist Parsons THE SOUTH African Reserve Bank (SARB) has given a strong indication that it might increase the borrowing costs as risks to the inflation outlook were assessed to the upside, even though it has paused its interest rates hiking cycle for now. In a split decision, the SARB yesterday kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged at a 14-year high of 8.25% per annum for the first time after 10 consecutive hikes since November 2021. This comes after headline consumer inflation returned to the upper end of the inflation target range in June, easing by 0.9% to 5.4% in June, from 6.3% in May, due to softening fuel and some food prices. Inflation is now forecast to sustainably…

Karooooo Limited remains well positioned for growth and operates in a growing and largely under-penetrated market, with strong demand from customers across diverse industries, CEO Zak Calisto said at the release of first quarter results yesterday. “Our robust and consistently profitable business model, underpinned by a strong balance sheet and healthy cash position, gives us multiple levers for expansion. “We expect our investment in marketing and sales, and the realisation of economies of scale across our business segments, to generate robust results in the future. “We remain confident in our track record of success,” he said. Much investment had gone into the business during the quarter, he said in an online interview. He said they had also made adequate provisions for the tough operating environment in South Africa. “I don’t…

Jubilee Metals Group saw a strong operational performance from its South Africa PGM and chrome operations that exceeded its guidance for the 12 months to June 30, the diversified metals processing group said in an operational update yesterday. The results reflected an ability to successfully navigate power and infrastructure challenges in South Africa, the London and JSE listed UK-based group said. PGM operations recorded 42 474 ounces, up from 41 456 ounces in 2022. PGM production increased 2% over the 2022 financial year, exceeding full year guidance of 38 000 ounces. “In South Africa, Inyoni continues to go from strength-to-strength. Our expansion strategy will see production increase further in the year ahead, as evidenced by our guidance for financial 2024 of 42 000 PGM ounces…