COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

MTN makes some executive calls

Africa's largest mobile operator, MTN, announced that its group chief operating officer (COO), Jens Schulte-Bockum, will step down from his role when his fixed-term contract ends at the end of March 2024.

Having spent seven years at MTN, he played a valuable role, the group said, having helped scale its core connectivity business across home, fibre, enterprise and network as a service (NaaS).

More recently, he had the additional responsibilities for accelerating the group's digital services platforms.

Selorm Adadevoh will take up the role, having served as CEO of MTN Ghana since 2018, while Stephen Blewet has been appointed to replace him. Blewet rejoined MTN in July 2023 from Digicel, where he held the position of COO.

Prior to this, he spent seven years in CEO roles for MTN Benin and then MTN Cameroon.-Fin24

Nedbank credit loss ratio Iimproves

Banking group Nedbank said on Wednesday its performance in the 10 months to end-October was materially in line with the guidance it provided at its interim results.

The performance reflects strong net interest income and moderate non-interest revenue growth, it said, as well as a credit loss ratio (CLR) that improved from 121 basis points but remained above its target range of up to 100 basis points.

There was very strong associate income growth, expenses that continue to be well managed and a lower effective tax rate, the group added. Pre-provisioning operating profit growth for the 10 months around the mid-teens, it said, referring to about 15% to 16%.

The group, however, now expects South Africa's GDP to grow 0.5% in 2023, from 0.3% at its half-year.-Fin24

Gemfields rockets 15% after ruby auction

Ruby and emerald producer Gemfields, which also owns Fabergé, said on Wednesday its final auction for 2023, of rubies, brought in $69.5 million (R1.32 billion).

While down from the US$80.4 million it achieved in June, it sold 100% of its lots, compared to 68%. The average per carat result also rose more than 28%.

Gemfields' total auction revenue for 2023 stands at US$242 million, its second highest ever, with the group saying its December auction showed "that the demand and pricing for rough rubies is decidedly healthy." By late afternoon, shares in the group were up almost 15%, valuing it at R4 billion on the JSE, but they are still down just over 8% in the past one year.-Fin24

Wesizwe workers stage illegal underground sit-in

A group of Wesizwe Platinum workers have staged an illegal sit-in underground and have refused to return to the surface at the company's Bakubung Platinum Mine outside Rustenburg.

The company has not stated the number of employees but said they refused to surface at the end of their shift on Wednesday.

"Demands have been made by the participating employees," the company said on Thursday morning. "Management together with local union representatives are engaging with the purpose of returning all employees to surface."

Last week, the company said it had started a Section 189 process that could result in the retrenchment of about three-quarters of its employees at the mine.

Valued at about R732 million on the JSE, and majority owned by the Jinchuan Group International Resources, Wesizwe seeks to cut about 571 of the people it employs at Bakubung. That is roughly 75% of the staff.

The company blamed the low prices of platinum group metals and three previous work stoppages, including another unprotected one, by the workers as the reason for the job cuts.-Fin24

AYO grows revenue thanks to new contracts

AYO Technology Solutions, part of the Sekunjalo Group, said on Wednesday its push for new contracts helped lift revenue more a quarter in its 2023 year, but its loss still widened in part due to taxes, and it has held onto its dividend.

Revenue rose 28% to R2.3 billion in the year to end-August, but its loss widened to about R640 million from R266 million, with the JSE-listed group hit by, among other things, a fall in profit margins, lower fair value adjustments on investments, and a VAT adjustment as a result of apportionment difference with the South African Revenue Service. The group opted not to declare a dividend, having paid 60c per share in the prior year.

The group reported a VAT apportionment of R126 million, saying that some expenditure was disallowed by the tax authority, given that it was earning more interest as compared to revenue. This refers to the ability of a company to make claims on the tax it paid on inputs, when, for example, creating taxable new business, something that helps ensure there is no cascading tax effect.

The group also reported a fair-value loss on financial instruments of about R113.7 million from a gain of R97.6 million in the prior year.

This relates to a written option that gave African Equity Empowerment Investments (AEEI), also part of the Sekunjalo group, the right to sell to AYO its shareholding in two businesses acquired in 2019. These options lapsed in February.-Fin24

Rothmans owner BAT crashes 9%

Shares of British American Tobacco (BAT) crashed on Wednesday after it announced a £25 billion (R595 billion) writedown of its US cigarettes business, citing an economic slowdown and a continued proliferation of illicit disposable vapes.

But the group said its new categories segment, including e-cigarettes under Vuse and nicotine pouches under Velo, is on track to break even two years ahead of schedule. The company said it would be accelerating its push to become a predominantly smokeless business, aiming to have 50% of its revenue coming from non-combustibles by 2035.

The company has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and a secondary one on the JSE. It also indicated it planned a significant investment push as it moved away from traditional tobacco products, saying that "now is the right time to further invest to accelerate our transformation".

The investment plans, along with the hefty writedown, may also have spooked the market, said one analyst, with shares in the group down just over 9% by late afternoon, bringing their loss over the past year to more than a quarter. The group is now valued at about £50.5 billion in London.-Fin24

Eskom a step nearer to 'bailout' of billions

The Eskom Debt Relief Amendment Bill was adopted in the National Assembly. The bill seeks to amend the Eskom Debt Relief Bill, implemented earlier this year, to convert loans to Eskom from interest-free to interest-bearing.

This comes after it was announced in February that government would take over some of the power utility's debt in the medium term.

Eskom is now set to receive R78 billion for the 2023/24 financial year, R66 billion for the 2024/25 financial year and R40 billion for the 2025/26 financial year via the National Revenue Fund. If Eskom meets all the conditions of the loans, these will be converted to equity or shares in Eskom.

In total, Eskom is expected to receive a R254 billion support package from government.

In terms of the amendment, however, Eskom will be expected to pay interest on loans advanced by government, and the Finance Minister will be able to reduce loan amounts if the power utility does not comply with certain conditions.

Chairperson of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Appropriations, Sfiso Buthelezi, said the amendment bill would enhance transparency and accountability for the loans and enhance the sustainability of Eskom.-Fin24