Business News Leaders

AMCU declares dispute in wage talks

Wage talks in the platinum sector have stalled. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) has declared a dispute. AMCU is demanding a three-year wage increase of R1,500 per year for entry level workers and a 10% rise per year for skilled workers as well as a number of…

10 Sep 2019 2AM 3 min

How the national minimum wage has weighed on Workforce Holdings

Labour services group, Workforce Holdings released interim results on Monday, reporting a 7.7% rise in revenue, but their headline earnings per share came in 6% lower to 18.5 cents. That is as the company battles with a weak economic environment and a slowdown in government spending on infrastructure. Business Day…

9 Sep 2019 2AM 5 min

Old Mutual bars CEO Peter Moyo from the office

Old Mutual CEO Peter Moyo has once again been barred from returning to work. This deepens the legal battle between Moyo and the insurer, which has frustrated investors and weighed on the company's share price. Joining Business Day TV on the line to discuss the latest development is Moyo's lawyer,…

9 Sep 2019 2AM 3 min

Brexit delay bill made law

British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has suspended UK parliament for over a month and at the same time, a bill demanding that Johnson delay the withdrawal if he cannot get a divorce deal has been made law what does this mean for t he entire process? Abhinay Muthoo, Professor of…

9 Sep 2019 2AM 7 min

EPP eyes portfolio expansion

Polish retail property group, EPP has kept its interim distribution almost unchanged at close to 6 euro cents, this amid a 56% fall in net profit to 34 million euros. The group however said that it is upbeat about the prospects of the Polish economy as its expansion drive continues…

6 Sep 2019 2AM 6 min

Sanlam cites tough conditions as earnings fall by a third

Financial services group, Sanlam has reported a 31% plunge in interim headline earnings, this was mainly due to once-off charges linked to its broad-based BEE scheme. And even though earnings had fallen the group said it was pleased with its operational performance, given the tough economic conditions in South Africa…

5 Sep 2019 2AM 6 min

Implats swings to full-year profit

Impala Platinum is back in the black, lifted by higher metal prices and operational improvements. The miner is reporting a 36% surge in revenue - despite the annual gains, the company will only resume dividend payouts in the next year or two and this on account of a bleak economic…

5 Sep 2019 2AM 7 min

Ramaphosa must act, says FirstRand CEO

FirstRand CEO Alan Pullinger has warned that the SA economy is flat lining and has pleaded with President Cyril Ramaphosa to act urgently on “structural reforms” or there could be no escape route out of the economic crisis. The comments come alongside the release of the group's annual results. FNB's…

5 Sep 2019 2AM 8 min

Momentum Metropolitan flags economic risks

Insurer, Momentum Metropolitain has seen a 53% spike in normalised headline earnings and that's thanks to cost cutting and new business growth. The company is aware that cost cutting can only do so much and says that it will focus on revenue growth moving forward but the group has warned…

4 Sep 2019 2AM 6 min

Core businesses boost Libstar's half-year earnings

Libstar's reported revenue up 4.6% for the half year - fuelled by organic revenue growth as demand for baked goods increased and spice exports took off. That's further translated into a 12.4% jump in normalised headline earnings per share. Business Day TV spoke to CFO Robin Smith for more of…

4 Sep 2019 2AM 5 min

Discovery ploughs money into new businesses

Discovery's annual earnings have fallen by 12% and that's as costs of its newly launched bank weigh. But it HAS ALSO helped see new business premium income grow 13%. And the company says it has plans to scale back on new business spend moving forward. Looking at 'old business', Discovery…

4 Sep 2019 2AM 5 min

DRDGold rewards shareholders as new tailings project investment bears fruit

DRDGold's decision to withhold its final 2018 dividend, after paying a 5c interim one, to invest in the Far West project is now paying off threefold. That's with its having declared a 20c per share dividend for the 2019 FY - on the back of revenue up 11%... and Post-tax…

3 Sep 2019 2AM 7 min

Why roads down under led to a plunge in profit for WBHO

Construction group, WHBO is battling down under. The company has posted a 16% rise revenue but cost overruns at a roads project in Australia has offset gains from its African and UK operations leading to a 56% plunge in operating profit. Company's Chair, Mike Wylie joined Business Day TV for…

3 Sep 2019 2AM 7 min

SA's economy rebounds in second quarter

The economy has dodged a technical recession. That's as the country's GDP expansion outpaced analyst expectations with a rebound of 3.1% in the second quarter. The bulk of the heavy lifting has come from the mining sector which registered grew of over 14%. Business Day TV sat down with Citadel's…

3 Sep 2019 2AM 7 min

Bidvest eyes more acquisitions despite tough conditions

Bidvest says its looking to make more large-scale investments in South African despite a tough economic environment. The services, trading and distribution group believes it has significant headroom to continue the group’s strategy of growth in its existing markets, as well as continuing to acquire divisional bolt-on business, and to…

2 Sep 2019 2AM 6 min

Old Mutual pledges R2.4bn to buy back more 'undervalued' shares

Old Mutual plans to spend R2.4bn on buying back its own "undervalued" shares. “The board believes that the share price is trading at a discount to its intrinsic value and is of the view that a share repurchase programme will deliver longer-term incremental value to shareholders,” the group’s statement reads…

2 Sep 2019 2AM 6 min

Land Bank maintains strong balance sheet despite policy uncertainty

The Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa says its balance sheet is strong given that its capital adequacy ratio sits at 16.4% and its net stable funding ratio is at 102%. The bank has also managed to deliver an annual net profit of R130.6mn despite facing sector wide…

2 Sep 2019 2AM 7 min

African Rainbow Minerals reports 9% rise in annual headline earnings

African Rainbow Minerals has reported a 9% jump in annual headline earning. The performance was supported in part by a run in iron ore prices during the period. The company has also taken the decision to put its joint venture Nkomati nickel mine on care and maintenance from September 2020,…

30 Aug 2019 2AM 6 min

AdvTech keeps dividend unchanged despite profit jump

Despite a surge in profits, listed private schooling group AdvTech, has decided to preserve cash by maintaining its dividend payout at 15 cents per share. Business Day TV sat down with CEO Roy Douglas for more insight on why the company has made this move.

29 Aug 2019 2AM 5 min

What Woolworths plans to do to save David Jones

David Jones has dragged Woolworths into another loss. This as the retailer had to cut the valuation of the Australian department store yet again. On the other hand, sales in the company's local business picked up with the struggling fashion business returning to sales growth. The group expects the clothing…

29 Aug 2019 2AM 8 min