Star 2024-05-23

THE LATEST consumer price index (CPI) has confirmed fears that the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) will continue postponing further cutting interest rates, in spite of inflation falling for the second month in a row in April. Data from Statistics SA (StatsSA) yesterday showed that headline inflation softened to 5.2% in April year-on-year, down from 5.3% in March and 5.6% in February, as general food inflation slowed except for vegetables, fruit and hot beverages. However, inflation remained stubbornly high and well above the SARB’s preferred level of 4.5% of the 3% to 6% target range. StatsSA’s chief director of price statistics, Patrick Kelly, said housing and utilities, miscellaneous goods and services, food and non-alcoholic beverages (NAB), and transport were the main drivers behind the headline rate in April. “Annual inflation…

PICK N PAY Stores yesterday said it would report big losses in its year to February 25 results due to write-downs and large once-off costs, but its shareholders appeared surprisingly upbeat as the share price gained up to 8% at one stage yesterday. The iconic South African grocery chain said in a trading statement yesterday its earnings would be impacted by a R2.8 billion non-cash asset impairment of its core Pick n Pay Super- markets stores. The group forecast that diluted headline loss per share would be between -280.39 cents to -227.75c, massively down compared with 263.2c the previous year. The results are expected to be released on Monday. With regard to the share price, Umthombo Wealth equity analyst Nomtha Ngumbela said much of the…

SOUTHERN Sun yesterday declared its first ever dividend since listing after wealthy and international tourists helped to drive earnings in the full year to end March 2024, and said that a more certain government policy framework would boost hotel room occupancy. Marcel von Aulock, the CEO of the multinational hospitality group, told Business Report in an interview yesterday there was potential to boost Southern Sun’s occupancy levels from the current 58.6% to around 65% with a better economic environment and more certain policy framework. “We don’t want to be at 58.6% in terms of occupancy; we want to be somewhere in the mid sixties. The economy is in trouble. We need the South African economy to perform smoothly,” he said. Southern Sun reckons that its current occupancy levels reflect “the…

THE BOARD of Anglo American appeared to soften its stance on a complete rejection of BHP’s buyout offer for some of its assets yesterday, after agreeing to continue engagements with the board of the Australian mining giant ahead of a fresh deadline of May 29. Anglo American said it had applied for an extension of the deadline for BHP to make a firm offer which lapsed yesterday, but has now been extended. BHP is bidding for Anglo American minus its South African iron ore and platinum group metals (PGM) units, with the focus now shifting to the boardroom as the two companies engage each other for a potential agreement over the next seven days. “It is frustrating on the part of BHP, but at least they now have an official…

SPEAR real estate investment trust (Reit), the only regionally focused Reit listed on the JSE, yesterday announced that its full-year distributable income per share (Dips) increased 1.04% to 82.99 cents over the prior financial year compared with the prior financial year. With cash collections robust at 98.92% for the year, the board declared a final distribution per share (DPS) of 40.53c based on a payout ratio for the final six months of 96% of Dips. The total DPS came to 78.86c, up 3.8%. It marked the first year in which annual gross revenue surpassed R600 million, after increasing by 5.92% through the year. Spear’s assets were valued at R4.62 billion, with a diversified portfolio of industrial, commercial, retail and mixed-use assets in the Western Cape. Its…

LIFE HEALTHCARE CEO, Peter Wharton-Hood, has criticised the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme which was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa last week, saying it was a missed opportunity to expand sustainable access to healthcare. This comes as the business sector has widely criticised the NHI, with Business Leadership SA saying the scheme was a political gimmick ahead of the general elections next week. Wharton-Hood said yesterday that the NHI had been signed into law without addressing concerns raised over it, including its burden on already strained state coffers from a funding perspective and its impact on private healthcare providers and professionals. He said Life Healthcare was expecting its implementation will be lengthy and bumpy. “We, therefore, expect a lengthy implementation journey of NHI due to operational and legislative…