Star 2025-11-07

Vodacom said the matter was settled by the parties out of court, but did not disclose the rand amount of the agreement Vodacom has revised its earnings forecast downwards by around 17%, due to a “one-off event”, hours after it reported that a settlement had been reached in the Please Call Me court action. Vodacom said the matter was settled by the parties out of court; the parties were glad that finality had been reached, and Vodacom did not disclose the rand amount of the settlement agreement, even though Business Report did question the telecom operator in this regard. As part of the settlement, the group said a notice was sent to the Supreme Court of Appeal, withdrawing Vodacom's appeal. Additionally, a notice was sent to the High Court to…

Lesaka Technologies’ consumer business delivered a standout performance in its first quarter with a 90% increase in segment adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) to R150 million, although the group reported a small loss. The Nasdaq and JSE listed technology group, which provides financial services and digital solutions to underserved communities and merchants across Southern Africa, said year-on-year, group net revenue increased by 45% and adjusted EBITDA was up 61%. Adjusted earnings per share increased by 97%, reflecting organic growth and the accretive effect of acquisitions. “These results mark a strong start to our financial year, demonstrating consistent and resilient growth momentum,” Lesaka CEO Lincoln Mall said. Lesaka serves over 90 000 micro merchants and more than 30 000 small-to-medium-sized businesses; the majority of these businesses are…

Despite the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) facing governance and performance challenges, the country’s banks - especially Standard Bank - have been engaging in multiple significant business deals and collaborations with the state-owned asset management entity over the years, allegedly continuing to exploit the situation for their own gain. United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader General Bantu Holomisa recently raised concerns about commercial banks. He accused them of structuring self-serving deals with the PIC that leave the pension fund, and ultimately public servants, to shoulder significant risk. Holomisa, in a formal letter addressed to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Chairperson of the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), Songezo Zibi, sounded the alarm over what he described as deeply troubling irregularities within the PIC. He cautioned that the scale and nature…

An abandoned mine. A global superpower desperate for supply. And South Africa quietly holding the solution. This isn’t fiction — it’s happening right now in Steenkampskraal, a forgotten town in the Western Cape. For six decades the site gathered dust. Anglo American walked away in 1963, convinced it was exhausted. They were wrong — by about R50 billion. Today, Steenkampskraal’s rare-earth deposits could reshape global supply chains, challenge China’s dominance, and position South Africa as a critical player in the electric-vehicle, renewable-energy and defence industries. The Rare-Earth Revolution The world has entered a new resource war — not for oil or gold, but for elements most people can’t pronounce: neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium. These minerals are the invisible engine of modern life. Every EV motor, wind turbine and military…

Conceptual clarity adopted in its founding principles and a strong mandate to drive sustainable industrialisation has largely defined the history of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). Although shortages of manufactured goods, caused by disruption to trade between Europe and South Africa following the first and second world wars were key catalysts for the rapid industrialisation of the local economy, the core objective to industrialise South Africa still underpins the corporation's foundational mandate, alongside its commitment to job creation. Established in 1940 through an Act of Parliament, the IDC turned 85 years old, in October, last month. For context, this institution has contributed significantly to shaping South Africa’s manufacturing and industrial base over the past eight and half decades. The corporation helped birth the likes of Ouma Rusks, Da Gama textiles,…

Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen has said that South Africa’s subtropical fruit sector remains a cornerstone of the country’s agricultural economy and a critical driver of export growth, particularly as the government pursues new market opportunities in Asia and beyond. Speaking at the Subtropical Marketing Symposium this week, Steenhuisen said that when he assumed office last year, he pledged to ensure that South Africa’s agriculture would compete “not just on volume, but on value.” “Nowhere is this more relevant than in the subtropical sector. Our avocado industry produces around 155 000 tons a year, and nearly half of that is exported as fresh fruit," he said. "Of the fresh exports, 75% go to the European Union and Russia, 22% to the United Kingdom, and a smaller but growing 3% to…