Company News in Brief
Nampak pulls out of Nigerian subsidiary
Packaging group Nampak announced the completion of its sale of its Bevcan Nigeria unit with effect from Friday. The debt-laden group confirmed the payment of $58.2 million (about R1.1 billion), with the about $10 million payable with interest by the 7 February 2025. The group first announced the deal in May, Nampak's Bevcan Nigeria business had been on the chopping block as the group grapples a hefty debt pile and looks to focus on being a metals business based largely out of SA. The group had net debt of R4.4 billion at the end of September but recently reported operational improvements and said it's pleased with progress in its turnaround.
-FIN24
SPAR sells Polish business arm
Retail group SPAR announced that the sale of its business in Poland became unconditional on Friday, having announced in November that it had received approval from authorities in the country. The sale includes a recapitalisation payment of about R2.7 billion to SPAR Poland and comes as the group looks to focus on improving margins in its core SA grocery business. The group has said that while Poland has great prospects, it simply doesn't have the management time or money to build the scale the operation needs. "The group would like to extend its gratitude to its employees and stakeholders for their contribution to the Polish operations and to all parties involved in successfully concluding this transaction," SPAR said.-FIN24
Swizz court finds Trafigura executive guilty of corruption
Switzerland's top criminal court on Friday found Trafigura and a former executive guilty of corruption in a case involving payments made to an Angolan official in exchange for oil contracts. It ordered the trading house to pay over $148 million (R2.75 billion) in fines and compensation and sentenced its former staff member Mike Wainwright to 32 months in prison of which 12 must be served. The outcome can be appealed to the same court. The case is the first time in Switzerland that a company has been charged at its highest court with corrupting a foreign official and a very rare instance globally of a former top executive of a trading firm landing in the dock. Prosecutors alleged that Trafigura and others paid bribes of more than $5 million via a network of intermediaries to the Angolan official to win oil deals from 2009-2011. Trafigura has previously said the anti-bribery and anti-corruption controls and the compliance programme in place at the time at its parent company met legal requirements and good practice standards. Wainwright has previously rejected all the allegations against him. - Reuters
Samsung profits tumble
The operating profit of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics sank almost a third in the fourth quarter owing to spending on research, the company said Friday, as analysts said it was struggling to meet demand for chips used in AI servers. The news comes as industry leaders try to assess the outlook for the sector after Chinese startup DeepSeek unveiled a groundbreaking chatbot that performed as well as artificial intelligence pacesetters - apparently for a fraction of the cost. The world's largest memory-chip maker had already acknowledged in October that it was facing a "crisis", and acknowledged questions had arisen about its "fundamental technological competitiveness and the future of the company". It said operating profit fell to 6.5 trillion won (R84 billion) in October-December, from 9.18 trillion won in the previous three months. However, it was up 130% on-year. - AFP
Intel posts fourth quarter loss
Intel reported a fourth-quarter loss on Tuesday, but better than expected revenue as the US chip giant continues to struggle to stake its place in the artificial intelligence revolution. The company posted a net loss of $126 million for the quarter ending December 28, compared to a profit of $2.67 billion in the same period last year. Revenue declined 7% to $14.3 billion, which was slightly better than expected by analysts. The company's share price rose 2% in after-hours trading following the earnings release. "While Intel's revenue decline remains concerning, the overall results came in ahead of the most pessimistic forecasts, possibly propped by broader market and geopolitical factors," said Emarketer analyst Jacob Bourne. - AFP
Packaging group Nampak announced the completion of its sale of its Bevcan Nigeria unit with effect from Friday. The debt-laden group confirmed the payment of $58.2 million (about R1.1 billion), with the about $10 million payable with interest by the 7 February 2025. The group first announced the deal in May, Nampak's Bevcan Nigeria business had been on the chopping block as the group grapples a hefty debt pile and looks to focus on being a metals business based largely out of SA. The group had net debt of R4.4 billion at the end of September but recently reported operational improvements and said it's pleased with progress in its turnaround.
-FIN24
SPAR sells Polish business arm
Retail group SPAR announced that the sale of its business in Poland became unconditional on Friday, having announced in November that it had received approval from authorities in the country. The sale includes a recapitalisation payment of about R2.7 billion to SPAR Poland and comes as the group looks to focus on improving margins in its core SA grocery business. The group has said that while Poland has great prospects, it simply doesn't have the management time or money to build the scale the operation needs. "The group would like to extend its gratitude to its employees and stakeholders for their contribution to the Polish operations and to all parties involved in successfully concluding this transaction," SPAR said.-FIN24
Swizz court finds Trafigura executive guilty of corruption
Switzerland's top criminal court on Friday found Trafigura and a former executive guilty of corruption in a case involving payments made to an Angolan official in exchange for oil contracts. It ordered the trading house to pay over $148 million (R2.75 billion) in fines and compensation and sentenced its former staff member Mike Wainwright to 32 months in prison of which 12 must be served. The outcome can be appealed to the same court. The case is the first time in Switzerland that a company has been charged at its highest court with corrupting a foreign official and a very rare instance globally of a former top executive of a trading firm landing in the dock. Prosecutors alleged that Trafigura and others paid bribes of more than $5 million via a network of intermediaries to the Angolan official to win oil deals from 2009-2011. Trafigura has previously said the anti-bribery and anti-corruption controls and the compliance programme in place at the time at its parent company met legal requirements and good practice standards. Wainwright has previously rejected all the allegations against him. - Reuters
Samsung profits tumble
The operating profit of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics sank almost a third in the fourth quarter owing to spending on research, the company said Friday, as analysts said it was struggling to meet demand for chips used in AI servers. The news comes as industry leaders try to assess the outlook for the sector after Chinese startup DeepSeek unveiled a groundbreaking chatbot that performed as well as artificial intelligence pacesetters - apparently for a fraction of the cost. The world's largest memory-chip maker had already acknowledged in October that it was facing a "crisis", and acknowledged questions had arisen about its "fundamental technological competitiveness and the future of the company". It said operating profit fell to 6.5 trillion won (R84 billion) in October-December, from 9.18 trillion won in the previous three months. However, it was up 130% on-year. - AFP
Intel posts fourth quarter loss
Intel reported a fourth-quarter loss on Tuesday, but better than expected revenue as the US chip giant continues to struggle to stake its place in the artificial intelligence revolution. The company posted a net loss of $126 million for the quarter ending December 28, compared to a profit of $2.67 billion in the same period last year. Revenue declined 7% to $14.3 billion, which was slightly better than expected by analysts. The company's share price rose 2% in after-hours trading following the earnings release. "While Intel's revenue decline remains concerning, the overall results came in ahead of the most pessimistic forecasts, possibly propped by broader market and geopolitical factors," said Emarketer analyst Jacob Bourne. - AFP
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