Star 2023-10-03

‘This will lead to a cascade of positive effects benefiting citizens, business and overall economic landscape’ The EASTERN Cape will benefit from R127 billion in new investment commitments that were announced at the Eastern Cape Investment Conference, projects that could materially improve the regional economy, Of the investments, R22.1bn re- presented investments announced for the first time, while R105bn of it was first announced at the South African Investment Conference in April this year. Eastern Cape Development Corporation CEO Ayanda Wakaba said these investments would inject substantial capital into the provincial economy, leading to a cascade of positive effects that would benefit citizens, businesses and the overall economic landscape. “The investment commitments are in the energy, manufacturing, information communication technology, property, tourism, film, oil and gas and healthcare sectors,”…

Pick n Pay’s share price dropped by more than 13% yesterday on the JSE following the retailer’s posting that it expects to report a loss and that its CEO Pieter Boone would step down. Boone would be replaced by Pick n Pay’s former CEO Sean Summers. In its trading statement for the 26 weeks ended August 2023, the retailer said it expects to report a loss of between 98.18 cents and 79.31c per share, a 184% to 204% decline from the 94.34c earnings per share it had last year. Pick n Pay expects to report a headline loss per share from 149.36c to 129.82c, a 233% to 253% decline. The group said it had experienced a particularly challenging reported period driven by a…

PICK N PAY’S newly appointed CEO Sean Summers intends to focus on turning around the core retail business of the grocery group. A trading statement released yesterday said the group expected to report a loss of between 98.18 cents and 79.31c per share, a 184% to 204% decline, from the 94.34c earnings per share it generated last year. This on the same day as the retailer announced that group CEO Pieter Boone was stepping down, and would be replaced by former CEO Sean Summers. The surprise change of CEO and forecast of a headline loss per share saw the group’s share price slump by 14.95% to close at R31.47 on the JSE yesterday. Speaking to Business Report, Summers said: “It’s common cause that Pick n…

CONSUMERS in South Africa have put the brakes on buying new cars for the second month in a row due to high borrowing costs and rising fuel prices. The Automotive Business Council (Naamsa) said yesterday that the decline in vehicle sales reflected external business factors. According to Naamsa, aggregate domestic new vehicle sales fell by 4.1% in September, or by 1 963 units to 46 021 units, from the 47 984 vehicles sold the same month a year ago. Export sales plummeted by 12.6%, or 5 217 units, to 36 247 units in September, compared to the 41 464 vehicles exported in September 2022. Activity around the buying of new cars usually indicates the strength of consumers’ buying power and prevailing economic conditions potentially…

IMPALA Platinum (Implats) said yesterday the uncertain macroeconomic environment and the recent decline in dollar platinum group metals (PGM) pricing, heralded a period of rapid margin compression across the sector. This would require decisive action and focus to preserve business sustainability, the group said in its integrated report released yesterday. The PGMs miner’s chairperson, Thandi Orleyn said it was worth noting, however, that the pricing decline had taken place in the context of a robust medium-term outlook for Implats’ primary products. “The immediate focus is to implement targeted capital and cost interventions in response to market conditions, sustain investment across the projects key to ensuring regulatory compliance and strategic value creation, and prioritise shareholder returns, with a dividend policy founded on a minimum allocation of free cash flow generated…

CALGRO M3 Holdings’s share price surged close to 10% yesterday after it said headline earnings per share for the six months to August 31 would be between 73.18 cents and 84.58c, representing an increase of between 28.4% and 48.4%. The company, which specialises in the development of integrated residential developments and the development and management of memorial parks, said in a trading statement that earnings per share would be between 73.18c and 84.58c. This represented an increase of between 28.3% and 48.3%% compared to the EPS reported for the previous period. The share price increased9.11% to close at R4.55 on the JSE yesterday, a price that was also 77% higher than at the same time a year before. Revenue for the six-month period increased by about 13.5%, primarily driven…