Star 2025-02-21

Company accrues $1.3bn in cost savings and recorded an Ebitda of $8.5bn at 30% margin Anglo American is facing some challenges as it moves to restructure its portfolio after reporting a $3.1 billion (R57bn) loss to shareholders for the 2024 full year which was also weighed down by $3.8bn in net impairments. The company, however, accrued $1.3bn in cost savings and recorded an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of $8.5bn at a margin of 30%. This was despite the impact of lower commodity prices which tanked 10% during the period under review as well as “challenging rough diamond trading” conditions under De Beers. Anglo American, which is demerging De Beers, said “the work to separate De Beers is well under way, with action taken to strengthen cash…

South Africa’s automotive sector faces a looming threat from US President Donald Trump’s planned 25% tariffs on foreign cars, the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (Nada) warned on Thursday. President Trump said this week that he plans to impose auto tariffs on foreign cars of around 25%. Semiconductor chips and pharmaceuticals are also set to face higher duties. This after he also recently announced tariffs on a 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminium. A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Trump said 25% tariffs would come as soon as April 2. He said the tariff would gradually rise, penalising automakers that export cars to the US rather than making them in the US.…

Tax Justice SA (TJSA) said in a statement on Thursday that their analysis indicated that tackling the country’s pervasive illicit cigarette trade could deliver a comparable financial windfall for the nation without squeezing citizens further. This comes as finance minister was forced to postpone tabling his 2025 Budget Review in Parliament on Wednesday after the deadlock over the proposed VAT hike from 15% to 17% in a bid to raise R58 billion. “According to official figures, each percentage point increase in VAT would have raised an extra R29bn in 2023/24. Meanwhile, a study by Oxford Economics has found that South Africa lost R27.1bn in tax revenue due to illicit cigarettes in 2022 alone,” said TJSA founder Yusuf Abramjee. “This means that cracking down on criminal cigarette syndicates could deliver…

Through using 21 different financial terms such as marketing contributions, professional fees, rebates, retail concepts, and rent, rates and services, Steinhoff helped poorly performing business units either inflate revenue or reduce cost. This, a comprehensive PwC investigation showed, had been ongoing for, in some cases, 10 years. PwC’s probe, a copy of which is in Business Report’s possession, was the result of Steinhoff’s auditors, Deloitte, flagging accounting irregularities in 2017. The news of what has become known as South Africa’s largest in the business world resulted in Steinhoff losing 97% of its market capitalisation between August 2017 and March 2019 as investors reacted to the news. Overall, PwC found that €6.5 billion – or R125bn – artificially went through Steinhoff's books between 2009 and 2017 when the lid was on…

Cell C’s financial turnaround is gaining momentum, and the mobile network operator and its major shareholder Blue Label Telecom are in a good position to move forward profitably from June, said joint CEO Brett Levy. Cell C’s performance was released as part of the interim results of Blue Label, which holds 49.53% of Cell C and has the possibility of acquiring another 10%, giving it control, pending the repayment of loans from a special purpose vehicle, which was formed to house loans used to recapitalise Cell C in 2022. Levy said on Thursday that he was confident the loans would be repaid and the shareholding would be returned to Cell C. In the six months to November 30, Cell C lifted revenue by 13%, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and…

Adcock Ingram Holdings’s interim operational and financial performance was below its management’s expectations due to constrained consumer spending and lower pharmaceutical stocks. The share price for the leading South African pharmaceutical manufacturer that was founded in 1891 fell sharply by 5.56% to R59.90 on the JSE by late yesterday afternoon, indicating investors might also have been unhappy with the results. The price, however, is 13.3% above what it traded at a year ago. “Although the results fell short of expectations, the company has retained its status as the Number 1 pharmaceutical player in the South African private market. In the prevailing economic climate, our teams are focused on growing market share, excelling at customer service and exercising strict cost control,” said CEO Andy Hall. In the six months to December…