Star 2024-02-27

PETROCHEMICALS giant Sasol has cited economic volatility as well as power supply and logistics constraints for its 34% lower profit for the first half year to December 31, a period in which it also recorded R3.9 billion in impairments from the Secunda liquid fuels refinery. Impairments in Secunda have been remeasured from R8.1bn a year earlier. The R3.9bn suffered on Secunda brings up the total for Sasol’s remeasured items – including impairments on Chemicals Africa – to R5.8bn compared to R6.4bn. The impairments on Secunda have been driven by a further deterioration assumed on the macroeconomic outlook, including Brent Crude oil and electricity prices, which have driven up the full amount of capital expen- diture incurred during the period of the facility. An impairment of R1.2bn has also been…

BUSINESS Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busisiwe Mavuso said yesterday that South African resource groups that have been laying off thousands of mineworkers have no option but to reduce production as a result of higher stockpiles due to port and rail challenges. Describing the latest wave of mining industry retrenchments as “depressing,” Mavuso said stockpiles of key commodities were rising. Sibanye-Stillwater, Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and ArcelorMittal South Africa were among the resource groups hardest hit by South Africa’s rail and port inefficiencies. They have put up some operations at halt and retrenched employees from others, heralding a sharp turn for an industry battling cyclical commodity prices downturn. “It is depressing reading of retrenchments taking place in the resources sector as commodity prices slide, but also because mining…

STOCKS on the JSE began the week on a weaker footing and the rand moderated slowly from the four-month lows it ended Friday on as the US dollar was still strengthened by signs of delayed rates cut in the US. The JSE All Share index fell more than 1% to below 73 400 points yesterday, mainly pressured by resource-linked stocks. Sasol led the losses, down nearly 6%, after the chemical and energy giant reported that its net profit for the first half of its 2024 fiscal year ending December 31, 2023, fell by 34%, underscoring the difficulties confronting the energy industry in the face of economic strains. Meanwhile, investors looked ahead to the latest reading of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) preferred inflation gauge this week as well as several…

This is testament to a sector that continues to perform and remains resilient, says expert Total agricultural exports reached a new record of $13.2 billion last year, up 3% from the previous year, surprising on the upside, according to data from Trade Map, a provider of world trade data. This was stronger than expected with modest export activity predicted this year despite numerous challenges at the ports and various export markets. The products that dominated the export list were citrus, maize, apples and pears, nuts, wine, soybeans, sugar, wool, grapes, berries, avocados and fruit juices. Wandile Sihlobo, the chief economist at Agbiz, said this improved export activity was a function of improvement in volumes and prices. “That said, pricing developments over the year were significantly more varied than the average…

The HALLENGES facing the mining industry must concern everyone. Cosatu and its affiliates, in particular, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), are deeply concerned about the alarm bells that have been ringing in the mining sector. The mining industry has been the backbone of South Africa’s economic and industrial development for more than a century. It is no accident that our currency, the rand, derives its name from this sector that has left its indelible footprint from the diamond mines of Kimberley to the platinum belt of the North West to the coal mines of Mpumalanga. There is no corner of the country, from Springbok to Cala, that has not been touched by the mining industry, for better and worse. While the mining industry’s legacy has been a mixed bag…

The National Agricultural Marketing Council’s (Namc) 28-item urban food basket increased by 11.5% year-on-year. The cost of the urban food basket increased by 11.5% in January from a year ago to reach R1 261.29, an increase of nearly 22 cents from the prior month, according to the Food Basket Price Monthly Report for February 2024 released yesterday. This was up from the urban food basket of R1 239.59 reported in December last year. The report was compiled by Namc’s Thulani Ningi, Corné Dempers and Dr Moses Lubinga. “Between January 2024 and January 2023, among these 28 items, 17 witnessed price increases that exceeded the inflation target set by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) of 6%. Notable products in this category include oranges, which experienced a substantial price surge…