Star 2024-06-26

BRAIT, the investment holding company, said net asset value declined 8% to R6.52 a share for the year to March 31, but it refinanced debt to provide a runway to monetise its Virgin Active and New Look assets, for shareholders. The owner of Virgin Active health clubs, the New Look fashion store chain in the UK and of a large shareholding in JSE-listed fast moving consumer goods manufacturer Premier, in 2020 changed its strategy to the monetisation of its assets. Since this change, Brait had realised disposal proceeds of R9.1 billion, which was mostly used to repay the revolving credit facility. “This strategy has not changed. The three-year extensions to the maturities of the bonds … provide runway for all stakeholders to benefit from the continued recovery in Virgin…

THE PRUDENTIAL Authority (PA) yesterday reported that it investigated 134 referrals alleging non-compliance with various laws such as the Insurance Act and levied administrative penalties totalling R2.7 million against four organisations under its ambit during the 2023/24 year. At the same time, the PA reported that two entities were under curatorship, while one institution was under statutory management, two under judicial management, and a further two in liquidation as the authority seeks to safeguard depositors and policy holders. In the annual report, CEO Nomfundo Tshazibana stated that the authority’s “experience with weak financial institutions continues to demonstrate that governance weaknesses and poor risk management result in financial losses, trust deficits and, ultimately, institutional failure”. However, South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kga-nyago said that there “currently appears to…

ATTACQ said its guidance remained unchanged and said that it expected distributable income per share growth of between 10% and 12.5%, the real estate investment trust (Reit) and development partner of Waterfall City said in a pre-close presentation yesterday for the year to end June 30. It said that it had bought back 5 352 955 of its own shares to date, at an average price of R9.35. The share price slipped 6.64% to close at R10.54 on the JSE yesterday. Debt levels were healthy. The gearing ratio was 25.4, well below the bank covenants at 50%. A DMTN debt issue was expected to be launched post the results in September 2024. The inaugural issuance was targeted for late October 2024. Attacq’s acquisition of the 20% share of…

SA CANEGROWERS has expressed hope that the Vision Consortium would commit to honouring the close to R526 million in outstanding obligations to the sugar industry following recommendations by the Competition Commission that its bid for Tongaat Hulett be approved. In May this year, the Durban High Court confirmed that the outstanding levies were due to be paid by Tongaat Hulett to the sugar industry. SA Canegrowers yesterday said the overdue payments of these obligations were putting all cane growers and many livelihoods in the sugar industry at risk as the industry supports the livelihoods of one million people. The Vision Consortium is made up of entrepreneurial families led by both South African and Zimbabwean Robert Gumede and Rute Moyo, and international businesspersons Amre Youness and Nauman Khan. In order…

THE CLIMATE crisis solution cannot be solved by using the “you are either with us, or against us” approach. We live in a society incapable of and struggling to ingest and digest information that contradicts one’s world view. Last week, I participated in a highly charged SABC TV debate show, The Big Debate, on the topic, Environmental Justice. The audience were mainly the Presidential Climate Commission, Wits University, National Energy Institute and green movement organisations such as Oxfam, Groundup, Green Connection, Cancel Coal and climate scientists and activists who are staunch supporters of green environmental justice and anti-coal and nuclear lobbyists. During the heated debate, I mentioned that we should not confuse the flaring up at power station cooling towers as carbon dioxide emissions or smog; it is steam vapour…

IN THE lead-up to the elections, most political parties tabled their manifestos, with many analysts, lobbyists, interest groups and investors among others dissecting such electoral promises to find and establish resonance with their favourite policy or implementation proclamations with whoever stood a chance of a victorious electoral outcome. Many of those manifestos fell short of the obvious indications on climate policy, simply because climate change could never be campaign fodder in such a uniquely hotly contested election in our country. The elections have come and gone, and we are yet to install a fully-fledged government of a unique nature in the form of a multiparty coalition Government of National Unity (GNU). What also remains to be seen is whether climate action will take centre stage in the seventh administration as…