Star 2023-09-05

PPC the JSE-Listed cementitious product maker and distributor, said yesterday Matias Cardarelli had been appointed CEO to succeed Roland van Wijnen, whose contract expired on August 31 and was extended to December 31 to help the hand-over and transition. PPC’s board thanked Van Wijnen, who had repositioned the group by restructuring its debt, realigned its governance and reporting procedures and refocused its growth objectives in southern Africa, while at the same time navigated the challenges of Covid-19. PPC has also, according to previous reports, faced lower demand for its products due to declining investment in infrastructure and a weak consumer environment in its South Africa operations. PPC chairperson Jabu Moleketi said Cardarelli has a remarkable track record in the cement industry, across multiple emerging markets, having also spent the last…

BIDVEST, the services, trading and distribution group that delivered a strong financial performance in the year to June 30, had an “exciting” acquisition pipeline, CEO Mpumi Madisa said yesterday. The Bidvest Group (UK) plc upsized and restructured its multi-currency funding facility and as at June 30 there was an offshore merger and acquisition war chest of ¤560 million (R11.3 6 billion). “It is the richest pipeline of acquisitions we have had in a long time,” Madisa said in an interview. She said the acquisitions, some of which were likely to be announced at the half-year stage, were likely to involve small to medium size businesses, and vary between the R200m to R3.5bn enterprise value range. “Corporate action remains an integral part of our growth strategy. We are…

GOVERNMENTS all over the world are attempting to curb the adverse supply shocks that resulted in high food prices, the recent example being the ban that India placed on rice exports in an attempt to keep their local prices at affordable levels. This past week, the South African government voiced concerns about the higher food prices and instructed the Cabinet’s economic cluster to implement a food security plan to cushion consumers. Dr Marlene Louw, senior economist at Absa AgriBusiness, said although these measures could provide some relief to consumers, research showed they could have a disruptive effect on markets, keeping supply low(er) and prices high over the medium to long term. “These measures can also be costly to the fiscus if it takes the form of storage or reserve programmes.…

Currency gains wiped out by intensified power cuts, fuel price hike THE RAND FELL to its lowest in two weeks, breaching the R19-mark to the US dollar yesterday after the government announced that fuel prices will increase to their highest in 9 months on the back of rising oil prices and weak exchange rate. The local currency weakened to R19.05 to the greenback in spite of hopes in the market for a pause in the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike after employment data out of the US showed an easing of labour market conditions. The fuel price hike, coupled with renewed concerns over the domestic economy due to intensified power cuts, wiped all the gains the rand has made since inflation dipped to the midpoint of the South African Reserve…

SPEAR real estate investment trust (Reit) has announced the launch of a new industrial development in George at a cost of R400 million over five years. Located adjacent to George airport, the development, to be known as GTX Park, is situated within the Airport Business Park precinct, and will comprise a total of 30 000 square metres of light industrial space, split across nine sites. Spear’s investment is in line with its focus on expanding its Western Cape property portfolio, and the project is expected to have a positive impact on the growth and development of the region. Spear CEO Quintin Ross said in a statement: “We are very pleased to bring this exciting development to the city of George. This expansion aligns with our commitment to…

FISHING group Sea Harvest said yesterday that earnings increased, boosted by strong demand, higher selling prices in all markets and channels, and a weaker rand. In its interim results for the six months ended June 30, 2023, the group said it proved its resilience and defensive nature by delivering headline earnings of 77 cents, 19% higher than in 2002. The group reported that revenue increased by 18% to R3.2 billion compared to 2022’s R2.7bn, benefiting from strong demand, higher selling prices in all markets and channels, and a weaker rand, thereby mitigating the significant inflation, including the double-digit increases in the fuel price and milk price, and continued load shedding experienced during the period. Despite this, no interim dividend was declared. Sea Harvest CEO Felix Rathebe said despite…