Star 2024-02-15

HEINEKEN’S consolidation of Distell and Namibia Breweries had positively impacted the Dutch global beer brewers net revenue by €887 million (R18.15 billion), or 3.1%, in its 2023 financial year, the results showed yesterday. The approximate R40bn acquisition of Distell and Namibia Breweries had extended the group portfolio and had created a new beverages champion in southern Africa, the Amsterdam-listed brewer said. The group had also exited Russia in the third quarter. Over the past year, Heineken faced pricing to offset unprecedented levels of commodity and energy inflation, which impacted consumer off-take. In the second half, however, pricing moderated and volume trends improved in most of Heineken’s markets. Group revenue for the year increased 4.9% to €36.4bn. Net revenue increased by 5.5% organically, with net revenue per hectolitre up…

Dilemma, as it compels the government to augment the 2023 public sector wage increments THE LABOUR Court’s ruling compelling the South African government to augment the 2023 public sector wage increment with margins agreed during current wage negotiations places Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in a dilemma in next week’s Budget, as he strives to contain government spending and at the same time cushion public sector workers against rising inflation in an election year. Jee-A van der Linde, a senior economist at Oxford Economics Africa, told Business Report in an interview yesterday that “spending pressures remain high” for South Africa. “Given that the economy is weak, further fiscal slippage seems inevitable. Treasury is expected to announce R15 billion in tax measures during the upcoming Budget,” he said. Although the 2023…

THE TOTAL value invested in bitcoin sur- passed $1 trillion (R19trln) yesterday for the first time since November 2021 as inflows to US spot bitcoin exchange traded funds continued to support prices. Bitcoin’s price reached $51902 yesterday, its latest 25- month high and a rise of 4.7% on the day, taking the token’s market cap to $1.017trln according to price platform Coingecko. The all-time high for bitcoin’s market cap was $1.28trln hit in November 2021, according to Coingecko. The world's largest crypto- currency has risen around 20% since the start of February, already set for its biggest monthly rise since October. Investments in bitcoin make up for more than half of the $2.01trln parked in the overall cryptocurrency market which includes ether and other digital coins. Strong inflows to new…

CLICKS Group said yesterday that The Body Shop in South Africa would not be affected by issues affecting the UK operations of The Body Shop. The South African business would continue to operate as normal, Clicks Group said in response to a question from Business Report. Employees at The Body Shop can breathe easier after the Clicks announcement amid a moribund South African economy, characterised by high unemployment. Ethical cosmetics retailer The Body Shop in the UK collapsed into administration this week after facing tough competition from newcomers in recent years, including from those also touting ethical credentials. However, The Body Shops’ 199 UK stores and online service would continue to trade, while administrators sought a way forward for the company. Clicks Group has operated The Body Shop in South…

CONSUMERS in South Africa are ex- pected to continue struggling this year under the brunt of stubbornly high in- flation, rising cost of borrowing and weak consumer confidence after retail activity plunged in 2023, in spite of sales outperforming expectations in the fourth quarter. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday showed that retail trade sales fell by 1% in 2023 compared with 2022, reflecting a subdued consumer demand environment. The retail sector has been struggling to recover as discretionary spending was halted by persistently high consumer inflation, which was at the upper limit of the SA Reserve Bank’s target range at 6%, forcing interest rates to remain at a 13-year high of 8.25% virtually the whole year. StatsSA’s deputy director for distri- butive trade statistics, Raquel Floris said: “For…

PARLIAMENT’S Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises would not rubber stamp the department’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) commitments to urgently address service delivery shortfalls, particularly on load shedding interventions without the principals being present, especially Electri- city Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) was giving an overview of the performance of the different parastatals and its most immediate response to the performance lethargy of entities including South African Airways (SAA), Transnet, Denel, Safcol and diamond producer Alexkor. Parliamentarians in the Khaya Magaxa-chaired committee preferred to defer the discussions of each State-owned enterprise separately and in the presence of line Ministers as they said issues of load shedding and improv- ing efficiency a the logistics entity, Transnet National Port Authority, were urgent. Through acting Director General…