Business News Leaders

CPI slows to 8-month low in February

Annual inflation slowed to an 8-month low of 2.9% in February as food prices moderated. Business Day TV's Alishia Seckam unpacked the print in detail with RMB economist Mpho Molopyane.

24 Mar 2021 2AM 7 min

Empathic leadership required in the post-COVID era

A year into the Covid 19 pandemic and the world is suffering a second pandemic of stress. Every responsible senior business leader wants to know what changes employees want in the post-COVID era. Many of the traits that have always been important for managers — empathy, clarity, authenticity, and agility…

24 Mar 2021 2AM 26 min

Why Old Mutual decided to proceed with a dividend payment

Old Mutual has restored its dividend even as Covid-19 weighed on the business causing it to post a total annual loss of R5.7bn. Business Day TV's Alishia Seckam spoke to Old Mutual CEO Iain Williamson about the decision

23 Mar 2021 2AM 6 min

How AdvTech survived Covid-19

AdvTech's ability to adapt in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic has stood it in good stead. The private education group managed to quickly switch to online schooling when South Africa went into hard lockdown and this helped lift annual revenue by 8%. Business Day TV's Alishia Seckam spoke to…

23 Mar 2021 2AM 4 min

How Attacq plans to deal with the fallout from Covid-19

Mall owner Attacq’s interim distributable earnings have more than halved as the landlord forked out close to R54m in rental discounts to help tenants impacted by Covid-19. Business Day TV's Alishia Seckam spoke to Melt Hamman, CEO of Attacq for his take on the performance and what it spells for…

23 Mar 2021 2AM 5 min

Banking on better days

Banks and financials fell 7,5% and 5,5% respectively last week as the 2020 earnings season revealed what many had feared, the bulk of the banks suffered swinging losses due to Covid. According to an overview of banks’ results by PwC, aggregate headline earnings for all of the banks declined by…

23 Mar 2021 2AM 24 min

Covid-19 Business Watch — The Week That Was

We had some welcome good news this week with the announcement of the preferred bidders for the emergency procurement of 2000MW of power set to create a wave of R45bn worth of investment into the local economy. But that was tempered by Minister Mantashe capping self gen at 10MW. While…

19 Mar 2021 2AM 25 min

Nedbank Future of Business — Investing in startups

In this segment of the future of business with Nedbank, we focus on an investment class that score to the growth of any country's economy we're talking about investing in startups the pros and cons and the role that startups play in an environment heavily impacted this time by covert…

19 Mar 2021 2AM 7 min

How Exxaro rewards shareholders with a record ordinary dividend

Exxaro has pumped cash during its full year thanks to higher coal exports and a weaker rand. This has led the company to declare a record ordinary dividend of R12.43 and a special dividend of R5.43. Business Day TV's Alishia Seckam spoke to Exxaro CEO Mxolisi Mgojo for more detail.

18 Mar 2021 2AM 9 min

Metair's tale of two halves

Automotive parts manufacturer Metair was hard hit during the first-half of its financial year as Covid-19 weighed in demand for the group’s products but trading conditions improved in the second half and so that the company has decided to reinstate its dividend. Business Day TV's Alishia Seckam spoke to Riaz…

18 Mar 2021 2AM 7 min

Rain boosts ARC Investments

African Rainbow Capital (ARC) Investments’ interest in Rain is paying off. The data-only network provider benefitted from a surge in demand during the Covid-19 lockdown and this has given ARC’s portfolio a boost. Business Day TV's Alishia Seckam unpacked this in detail with ARC’s Co-CEO, Johan van der Merwe.

18 Mar 2021 2AM 4 min

Is this a new PGM paradigm?

It’s been a blisteringly red hot run for the country’s platinum group metals miners. It’s worth repeating the recent earnings numbers. Amplats reported a record EBITDA of R41.6 billion, Sibanye Stillwater’s EBITDA increased by 230% year-on-year to more than R49 billion, Implats EBITDA rose by 231% to just over R25…

18 Mar 2021 2AM 26 min

Nedbank holds onto dividend

Nedbank has suspended its final dividend, following a near 57% slump in full-year headline earnings. The lender has cited higher impairments and lower revenues, largely due to a decline in client activity levels and the impact of lower interest rates. Business Day TV's Alishia Seckam spoke to Nedbank Chief Executive…

17 Mar 2021 2AM 7 min

Covid-19 weighs on Curro’s earnings

Covid-19 weighed on Curro's year-end performance. The private school group, which raised its bad debt provisions almost fourfold during the period, has posted a 32% drop in headline earnings. Business Day TV's Alishia Seckam unpacked the results with CEO Andries Greyling.

17 Mar 2021 2AM 8 min

Covid-19 eats into Libstar’s annual earnings

The Covid-19 pandemic has weighed on consumer goods group Libstar with the company reporting a 55% plunge in annual normalised earnings as the firm’s food division, which supplies restaurants, felt the sting of lockdown measures. Business Day TV's Alishia Seckam caught up with the company’s CEO Andries van Rensburg to…

17 Mar 2021 2AM 5 min

Shoprite bags profit despite Covid-19

Shoprite has posted a near 5% rise in half-year profit, despite Covid-19 weighing on consumers. Business Day TV's Alishia Seckam unpacked the performance with CEO Pieter Engelbrecht.

16 Mar 2021 2AM 7 min

Sorry state of small business the real disaster

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown has taken its toll on everyone, but small businesses have really borne the brunt of the 7% decline in GDP we saw last week. Finfind, in partnership with the Department of Small Business Development, SEDA, Services SETA, Business Leadership South Africa, the Banking Association…

16 Mar 2021 2AM 24 min

SA's construction sector continues to recover

South Africa's construction industry continues to recover. Afrimat's index for the sector rose to 111.3 points in the fourth quarter, showing that activity is almost back to pre-pandemic levels. Business Day TV's Alishia Seckam spoke to independent analyst Roelof Botha for more.

16 Mar 2021 2AM 7 min

What's driving movements in the rand?

The local unit has continued to trade under the R15 to the US dollar mark as US Treasury yields backed off recent highs further supporting a risk-on backdrop. Business Day TV's Alishia Seckam discussed the movements at play with RMB’s currency analyst Varushka Singh.

16 Mar 2021 2AM 4 min

Absa's annual earnings more than halve

Covid-19 weighed on Absa's full-year performance. The lender's credit impairments nearly trebled during the period, resulting in a 51% slump in profit. Business Day TV's Alishia Seckam unpacked the results with Jason Quinn, Financial Director at Absa.

15 Mar 2021 2AM 8 min