COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF
Gemfields evacuates workers
Gemfields, the JSE-listed miner of coloured gemstones, has evacuated employees and contractors from operations after an insurgent attack on a nearby village in the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique.
The attack, which occurred in the village of Nairoto shortly before midnight on Sunday, prompted Gemfields to evacuate operational employees and contractors from the Nairoto Resources exploration camp located 15km away from the village. Operations at Nairoto have been stopped.
Some 83km away from the Nairoto village is Gemfields' Montepuez ruby mine, one of the most significant recently discovered ruby deposits in the world.
There is no present impact at these operations, the company said on Tuesday.
In June and July last year Gemfields warned insurgent attacks were moving closer to the Montepuez ruby mine. In October last year Montepuez employees were evacuated when insurgents attacked a neighbouring ruby mine belonging to Gemrock.
For the past five years, Mozambique has been battling attacks from violent extremists, linked to the radical Sunni militant group Islamic State.
The attacks have been focused on the oil-and-gas-rich Cabo Delgado province.
Last month, the province was rocked by three simultaneous attacks which coincided with a visit by the global CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, to the group's local operations.-Fin24
Telkom's profits fall
South Africa's third-biggest mobile operator, Telkom has a reported a double-digit fall in core profit in its third quarter to end-December, hit by higher costs as well as load shedding, but also weaker margins as it kept a focus on growing its mobile subscriber base.
Group revenue rose 2.3% to R11.03 billion to end-December, Telkom said on Tuesday, while earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) fell 13.5% to about R2.5 billion.
The group also warned of declining profitability for its fourth quarter, in part due to the costs of growing its mobile subscriber base, where the costs of handsets are up felt upfront.
Telkom said it had focused on "offering attractive value propositions" in its mobile business, with mobile data traffic up 25.6% and subscribers 12.9% to 18.6 million. Mobile broadband customers grew 9.9% to 11.5 million, comprising almost 62% of active mobile customers.
"Our mobile and broadband strategies continued bearing fruit," said CEO Serame Taukobong. "We saw good growth in broadband as our data-led and connect-led strategies continued to drive growth in mobile and fibre subscribers along with data usage," he said.
The group also flagged the costs of load shedding, saying while its mobile sites are partially backed up through battery power, access network availability is materially reduced during load shedding Stage 4 and beyond.-Fin24
Italtile reports profit slip
South Africa's biggest retailer of bathroom tiles, Italtile, says profits slipped in its half-year to end-December, as the Covid-19 inspired home improvement boom continued to wane, along with an erosion of consumer spending power due to rising interest rates and elevated inflation.
System-wide turnover rose 3% to R6.2 billion to end December, it announced on Monday, while trading profit fell 8% to R1.4 billion, amid a 7% rise in selling prices, but an 8% fall in volumes.
Founded in 1969 and valued at R18.5 billion on the JSE, Italtile's retail brands are CTM, Italtile Retail, TopT and U-Light, selling through a total network of 214 stores, including six online web stores.
The group said "onerous" increases in basic living costs, including food and transport, had a particularly severe impact on TopT’s market segment, much of which is dependent on social relief of distress grants and heavily impacted by fuel and food inflation.
However, CTM, which targets the middle market, was also under pressure with high levels of inventory across the industry prompting price cuts as retailers fought for market share, it said, along with general pressure on consumer spending.-Fin24
PIC eyes investment in Attacq's Waterfall City
The Government Employees Pension Fund, via the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), is considering a R2.8 billion investment into Attacq's Waterfall City, a move the property group says will help accelerate developments at the massive mixed-used development precinct in Midrand.
The proposed transaction would see state pensioners take a 30% stake in the Attacq subsidiary which holds the completed real estate portfolio and development and leasehold rights in Waterfall City for R2.5 billion, as well as provide a R300 million shareholder loan.
Attacq, valued at more than R6.5 billion on the JSE on Monday morning, saw its shares jump 20.45% to R8.60 in early trade, having now risen by more than a third over the past six months.
Waterfall City comprises 2 200ha of leasehold land, with Attacq valuing it at R11 billion at the end of its 2022 year. It includes the Mall of Africa, Africa's largest mall constructed in a single phase, and the firm has said the area's location and development has turned it into a growth node, having attracted blue-chip firms including PwC, Deloitte, Cisco, Pfizer, Ericsson as well as Amazon Web Services.
The proposed transaction is still subject to numerous conditions, including shareholder approval, but if implemented, is expected to reduce the group's gearing from 37.2% at the end of June 2022, to about 24%.-Fin24
Binance backer ordered to stop issuing token
New York's chief financial regulator said on Monday it has ordered the firm behind Binance's stablecoin to stop issuing the token after finding it could not do so in a "safe" manner, in a blow to the world's biggest crypto exchange.
The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) said in consumer alert it has ordered Paxos Trust Company to stop minting Binance USD, citing "unresolved issues" in Paxos' oversight of its relationship with Binance.
Paxos violated its obligations for "tailored, periodic risk assessments" and due diligence checks on Binance and Binance USD customers needed to stop "bad actors from using the platform."
Paxos said in a statement that it would stop issuing new Binance USD, which is backed by traditional cash and US Treasury bills, from Feb. 21, but would continue to support and redeem the tokens until at least February 2024.
Stablecoins, digital tokens typically backed by traditional assets that are designed to hold a steady value, have emerged as one of the key cogs in the crypto economy. They are used for trading between volatile tokens like bitcoin and, in some emerging economies, as a means to protect savings against inflation.
The NYDFS move represents a setback to Binance's efforts to gain market share from larger stablecoins rivals such as Tether and USD Coin, analysts said. The loss the New York-regulated status offered by Paxos may also hurt Binance's appeal to larger investors seeking, they said.-Fin24
SA DoT received no application for Norwind
The South African Department of Transport (DoT) says it has received no applications from Russian airline Nordwind for it to begin direct flights to South Africa. This is despite reports in Russian media about the plan.
Nordwind Airlines is a Russian charter and scheduled flight operator owned by the Russian-Turkish tour operator Pegas Touristik.
The Russian online newspaper Lenta.ru reported in January that South Africa's ambassador in Russia, Mzuvukile Maqetuka, said that Nordwind could launch four direct flights a week to South Africa soon. At the time, the Russian News Agency TASS also reported that Oleg Ozerov, head of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, mentioned plans for direct flights between Russia and South Africa.
But the DoT said it has not received any application from Nordwind to start a Russia-South Africa route. "Should Nordwind submit such an application, normal processes would be followed," the department said.
Neither Maqetuka, the Russian embassy in Pretoria nor Nordwind have responded to requests for comment. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation and the SA Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) referred News24 to the Department of Transport.
Russian airlines are subject to European and US sanctions due to the country's invasion of Ukraine a year ago.
In terms of the sanctions, aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing, used by Nordwind, are not allowed to export parts to Russian airlines nor provide maintenance services. Russian planes are also not allowed to fly in US and European airspace.-Fin24
Gemfields, the JSE-listed miner of coloured gemstones, has evacuated employees and contractors from operations after an insurgent attack on a nearby village in the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique.
The attack, which occurred in the village of Nairoto shortly before midnight on Sunday, prompted Gemfields to evacuate operational employees and contractors from the Nairoto Resources exploration camp located 15km away from the village. Operations at Nairoto have been stopped.
Some 83km away from the Nairoto village is Gemfields' Montepuez ruby mine, one of the most significant recently discovered ruby deposits in the world.
There is no present impact at these operations, the company said on Tuesday.
In June and July last year Gemfields warned insurgent attacks were moving closer to the Montepuez ruby mine. In October last year Montepuez employees were evacuated when insurgents attacked a neighbouring ruby mine belonging to Gemrock.
For the past five years, Mozambique has been battling attacks from violent extremists, linked to the radical Sunni militant group Islamic State.
The attacks have been focused on the oil-and-gas-rich Cabo Delgado province.
Last month, the province was rocked by three simultaneous attacks which coincided with a visit by the global CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, to the group's local operations.-Fin24
Telkom's profits fall
South Africa's third-biggest mobile operator, Telkom has a reported a double-digit fall in core profit in its third quarter to end-December, hit by higher costs as well as load shedding, but also weaker margins as it kept a focus on growing its mobile subscriber base.
Group revenue rose 2.3% to R11.03 billion to end-December, Telkom said on Tuesday, while earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) fell 13.5% to about R2.5 billion.
The group also warned of declining profitability for its fourth quarter, in part due to the costs of growing its mobile subscriber base, where the costs of handsets are up felt upfront.
Telkom said it had focused on "offering attractive value propositions" in its mobile business, with mobile data traffic up 25.6% and subscribers 12.9% to 18.6 million. Mobile broadband customers grew 9.9% to 11.5 million, comprising almost 62% of active mobile customers.
"Our mobile and broadband strategies continued bearing fruit," said CEO Serame Taukobong. "We saw good growth in broadband as our data-led and connect-led strategies continued to drive growth in mobile and fibre subscribers along with data usage," he said.
The group also flagged the costs of load shedding, saying while its mobile sites are partially backed up through battery power, access network availability is materially reduced during load shedding Stage 4 and beyond.-Fin24
Italtile reports profit slip
South Africa's biggest retailer of bathroom tiles, Italtile, says profits slipped in its half-year to end-December, as the Covid-19 inspired home improvement boom continued to wane, along with an erosion of consumer spending power due to rising interest rates and elevated inflation.
System-wide turnover rose 3% to R6.2 billion to end December, it announced on Monday, while trading profit fell 8% to R1.4 billion, amid a 7% rise in selling prices, but an 8% fall in volumes.
Founded in 1969 and valued at R18.5 billion on the JSE, Italtile's retail brands are CTM, Italtile Retail, TopT and U-Light, selling through a total network of 214 stores, including six online web stores.
The group said "onerous" increases in basic living costs, including food and transport, had a particularly severe impact on TopT’s market segment, much of which is dependent on social relief of distress grants and heavily impacted by fuel and food inflation.
However, CTM, which targets the middle market, was also under pressure with high levels of inventory across the industry prompting price cuts as retailers fought for market share, it said, along with general pressure on consumer spending.-Fin24
PIC eyes investment in Attacq's Waterfall City
The Government Employees Pension Fund, via the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), is considering a R2.8 billion investment into Attacq's Waterfall City, a move the property group says will help accelerate developments at the massive mixed-used development precinct in Midrand.
The proposed transaction would see state pensioners take a 30% stake in the Attacq subsidiary which holds the completed real estate portfolio and development and leasehold rights in Waterfall City for R2.5 billion, as well as provide a R300 million shareholder loan.
Attacq, valued at more than R6.5 billion on the JSE on Monday morning, saw its shares jump 20.45% to R8.60 in early trade, having now risen by more than a third over the past six months.
Waterfall City comprises 2 200ha of leasehold land, with Attacq valuing it at R11 billion at the end of its 2022 year. It includes the Mall of Africa, Africa's largest mall constructed in a single phase, and the firm has said the area's location and development has turned it into a growth node, having attracted blue-chip firms including PwC, Deloitte, Cisco, Pfizer, Ericsson as well as Amazon Web Services.
The proposed transaction is still subject to numerous conditions, including shareholder approval, but if implemented, is expected to reduce the group's gearing from 37.2% at the end of June 2022, to about 24%.-Fin24
Binance backer ordered to stop issuing token
New York's chief financial regulator said on Monday it has ordered the firm behind Binance's stablecoin to stop issuing the token after finding it could not do so in a "safe" manner, in a blow to the world's biggest crypto exchange.
The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) said in consumer alert it has ordered Paxos Trust Company to stop minting Binance USD, citing "unresolved issues" in Paxos' oversight of its relationship with Binance.
Paxos violated its obligations for "tailored, periodic risk assessments" and due diligence checks on Binance and Binance USD customers needed to stop "bad actors from using the platform."
Paxos said in a statement that it would stop issuing new Binance USD, which is backed by traditional cash and US Treasury bills, from Feb. 21, but would continue to support and redeem the tokens until at least February 2024.
Stablecoins, digital tokens typically backed by traditional assets that are designed to hold a steady value, have emerged as one of the key cogs in the crypto economy. They are used for trading between volatile tokens like bitcoin and, in some emerging economies, as a means to protect savings against inflation.
The NYDFS move represents a setback to Binance's efforts to gain market share from larger stablecoins rivals such as Tether and USD Coin, analysts said. The loss the New York-regulated status offered by Paxos may also hurt Binance's appeal to larger investors seeking, they said.-Fin24
SA DoT received no application for Norwind
The South African Department of Transport (DoT) says it has received no applications from Russian airline Nordwind for it to begin direct flights to South Africa. This is despite reports in Russian media about the plan.
Nordwind Airlines is a Russian charter and scheduled flight operator owned by the Russian-Turkish tour operator Pegas Touristik.
The Russian online newspaper Lenta.ru reported in January that South Africa's ambassador in Russia, Mzuvukile Maqetuka, said that Nordwind could launch four direct flights a week to South Africa soon. At the time, the Russian News Agency TASS also reported that Oleg Ozerov, head of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, mentioned plans for direct flights between Russia and South Africa.
But the DoT said it has not received any application from Nordwind to start a Russia-South Africa route. "Should Nordwind submit such an application, normal processes would be followed," the department said.
Neither Maqetuka, the Russian embassy in Pretoria nor Nordwind have responded to requests for comment. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation and the SA Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) referred News24 to the Department of Transport.
Russian airlines are subject to European and US sanctions due to the country's invasion of Ukraine a year ago.
In terms of the sanctions, aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing, used by Nordwind, are not allowed to export parts to Russian airlines nor provide maintenance services. Russian planes are also not allowed to fly in US and European airspace.-Fin24
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