Star 2023-11-03

AS SOUTH Africa is still in a celebratory mood after the victorious Springboks flew back to our shores after winning the Rugby World Cup 2023 tournament, SA Inc is on the ball with team spirit. Pick n Pay Clothing said yesterday that it had offered free rugby T-shirt printing to customers who bought one from their affordable, locally made 100% BCI cotton T-shirt range. More than 42 000 T-shirts were printed over eight weeks, with almost half printed in three days leading up to the final match on Saturday, the retailer said in a statement. “The response was extraordinary as official partner stores had sold out of official Springbok clothing,” it said. Pick n Pay Clothing said it also sold around 1 million official Springbok merchandise items.…

THE RAND CONTINUED to gain ground against the dollar yesterday after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) kept its interest rates on ice unchanged for a third consecutive period with investors optimistic that the US rate hike cycle has ended. This was as the local currency firmed on Wednesday after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tabled his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS). Godongwana revealed that the government planned to increase its borrowing requirements during the 2023/24 fiscal year. The MTBPS tabled a number of important targets, including fiscal consolidation, reduced expenditure and the reorganisation of government functions. No tax increases were mentioned. Aurelien Mali, the vice-president senior credit officer at Moody’s Investor Service, said: “The key elements of South Africa’s mid-term Budget were broadly in line with our expectations. But significantly lower…

JUST SHARE has asked Sasol’s shareholders not to endorse the fuel-and-chemicals-from-coal groups’ decarbonisation strategy, because it claims Sasol doesn’t expect to meet its 2030 greenhouse gas (GHG) targets, but Sasol says this is incorrect. Sasol’s annual general meeting is scheduled for November 17. In its 2023 reporting suite, Just Share said yesterday, Sasol had conceded that it might not meet its 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. It blamed external “vagaries and variables”, and “headwinds” which were “resulting in an emerging gap to targets” and needed “to be managed to achieve competitive returns”. However, Sasol said in response to Business Report questions that Just Share was incorrect, and Sasol had maintained its commitment to its 30% reduction and decarbonisation levers, while advancing progress against this commitment with tangible initiatives. Just…

This despite the Agoa Extension Act of 2023 Bill being introduced to Congress last month AN ADJUNCT fellow at the Centre for African Studies at Howard University in Washington, DC, Michael Walsh, told Business Report that it would be incredibly difficult to secure an early extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) as American politics remains deeply divided. This as the AU Commissioner of Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals, Ambassador Albert Muchanga, told the 20th Agoa Forum yesterday that an extension would provide the required predictability and certainty to the markets. The Agoa Forum is taking place in Johannesburg as about 30 African trade ministers, business people, civil society and trade unions debate the future of a trade agreement between Africa and the US that is…

MURRAY & Roberts Holdings (M&R) yesterday sought to allay concern among stakeholders about its debt and sustainability, and the global civil engineering and contracting group and local construction industry icon said a plan to deleverage will mean that a rights issue is not necessary. The group admitted in a trading update that its past year to June 30, 2023 had been the most challenging for it since the 2008 global financial crisis, as it struggled to recover from the after-effects of the pandemic. The share price traded at 67 cents on the JSE yesterday, this after falling steadily from R4.25 a year before as the group’s financial difficulties became more apparent. “The pandemic created a difficult operating environment for the group’s entire multibillion-rand project portfolio, which caused a significant…

SOUTH African consumers are facing elevated financial pressures due to the rising cost of living, said Pepkor, which runs clothing and apparel retail outlets such as Pep and Ackermans, as it reported a 7% rise in revenues for the full year period to end September 2023. The rise in group revenue for the full year period to R87.4 billion was on account of market share gains from PEP in the babies’ category and stronger gains by Ackermans in school-wear and lingerie. The JD Group also expanded its market share in the computer and audio segment. “Customers continue to face financial pressure due to high living costs. Their ability to earn an income remains negatively impacted by high unemployment, continued electricity supply interruptions as a result of load shedding and…