COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Nedbank says demand for credit has increasedNedbank says it has been lending more, and as the interest rates continue to climb, the green bank is cashing in some handsome net interest income. The banking group published a trading update for the ten months to 31 October 2022 on Monday evening.It said that despite the South African economy losing momentum in the second half of the year as global and domestic headwinds escalated, its net interest income (NII) and non-interest revenue – which it generates from banking fees and commissions – remained robust. NII grew by low double digits, as the group predicted when it gave shareholders earnings guidance earlier this year.The bank said its interest-earning assets increased by "mid-single digits" thanks to selling more loans. It said there was solid loans and advances growth in both its retail banking franchise and at Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB)."The recovery in CIB loans and advances growth has been driven by stronger performances from the Investment Banking and Transactional Services businesses as demand for short-term and long-term credit has increased. In RBB, loans and advances continue to be driven by strong growth in our commercial banking and small business segments, as well as solid growth in home loans, vehicle finance and overdrafts," wrote the bank in the trading update.And as this growth coincided with rapid interest rate increases, Nedbank's net interest margin has increased further from the 385 basis points the group reported at the end of June. The bank will provide the exact number when it reports its full-year financial results for 2022 in March next year.This means that Nedbank continued to grow its loan book even when other banks started to become wary of the rising risk of bad debts as interest rates, food and fuel prices have stretched many households' budgets beyond limits.-Fin24Sygnia jumps after it reports profit growthShares of asset manager Sygnia jumped more than 8% on Monday, after it reported a profit climb of almost a fifth in its 2022 year, saying its focus on low-cost investment and savings products meant that, in contrast to its competitors, it had experienced little pressure on management fees.Assets under management and administration fell 3.8% to R285.1 billion in its year to end-September, amid volatile market conditions, but profit after tax grew 19.3% to R287.4 million, with the firm's revenue rising at more than twice the pace of expenses.The firm also launched several new funds, which supported revenue growth of 9.7%, upping its dividend by 55.6% to R2.10 per share, equating to about a R316 million payout.In afternoon trade Sygnia's shares were up 8.32% to R18.74, having risen almost 2% in the year to date. "Passive investing is on the rise in South Africa, and Sygnia is well positioned to take advantage of a growing scepticism among investors about the more expensive alternative of active management, especially in a low-return environment," the firm said.The risk of overaggressive policy tightening causing a global recession remains high, but resilient growth suggests a soft landing is still possible, the group said."A recovering underlying global economy, risk-averse current investor positioning and anchored long-term inflation should form a base from which a recouvery is increasingly feasible. A great deal of bad news is already priced in, and if inflation declines according to plan, investors will be rewarded."-Fin24Metair puts brakes on plan to split businessDespite various disruptions, vehicle component and battery manufacturer Metair is upbeat about local car output – but its battery businesses in Turkey and Romania have been hit by hyperinflation and the invasion of Ukraine.Metair manufactures products like brake pads and shock absorbers, while it also produces batteries used in the automotive, telecoms, mining and retail sectors.Metair previously considered splitting its business into two, and listing (or selling) its battery business in an effort to unlock value for shareholders. But in an operational update on Monday, the group said its plans have "not translated into an executable transaction largely due to the geopolitical climate within Eastern Europe"."The board will revisit its strategic options as and when the operating climate improves," it said.For the year, volumes from its Romanian battery manufacturer Rombat are expected to fall by 15% due to the impact on demand following the invasion of Ukraine. Its Turkish battery business Mutlu Akü is forecast to increase its export volumes by at least 17% this year, but has been impacted by a spike in inflation, which hit 85.5% in that country in October.Metair said it saw unprecedented energy and labour cost increases across Turkey and Romania. While price increases have helped to recover some of these increases, margins have been negatively impacted in the short term.-Fin24Murray & Roberts slumpsShares of engineering firm Murray & Roberts (M&R) slumped by double digits on Monday morning, after it said its proposed R4 billion sale of its Australian business unit Clough had fallen through, resulting in a business rescue process.Along with the sale of Clough to Milan-based Webuild, the parties were also contemplating a A$30 million (R352 million) interim loan facility to avoid putting the business into voluntary liquidation proceedings, although the deadline for this has now passed. Due to this the parties have "mutually and unconditionally" decided to call off the proposed transaction.In early trade on Monday M&R's shares had slumped 13.47% to R4.11, having fallen 70.66% so far in 2022. Click here for more details on M&R's shares and other info.Earlier in 2022, M&R had warned of a crash crunch at the subsidiary, with global supply chain delays causing project delays, with the working capital needs of Clough being "urgent".M&R first acquired a minority interest in Clough in 2004 before buying out all the other minority shareholders in 2013. Clough accounted for 62% of the group’s R59.5 billion order book in financial year 2022, along with 57% of its R29 billion in revenue. It also made a similar contribution to the group’s R705 million operating profit.-Fin24Saldanha residents voice support for KarpowershipAt a public meeting held in Saldanha Bay as part of Karpowership’s regulatory requirements, many residents expressed their backing for the controversial electricity-generation deal, despite environmental organisations opposing the "flawed" deal.Karpowership runs powerships that use fossil fuels to generate electricity. "We support this project," said Samuel Moorkroof, who was speaking on behalf of the West Coast Black Business Alliance. Moorkroof said that some media reports have claimed that people of Saldanha Bay were wholly opposed to the deal, but that this wasn’t true. He said many people in Saldanha supported the Karpowership project.GroundUp sat in on the public meeting held in Saldanha Multipurpose Centre on 21 November. About 50 people, including representatives of local business and fishing organisations, attended the meeting and most showed support for the Karpowership deal. One man at the meeting said that he was not in support of the deal.In March 2021, three Karpowerships, to be based in Saldanha Bay, Coega, and Richards Bay, were listed among eight preferred bidders as part of the Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) in a 20-year deal worth over R200-billion. In June last year, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) refused Karpowership initial environmental impact assessments (EIAs).-Fin24The Wirecard scandalMore than two years after the dramatic collapse of German digital payments firm Wirecard, ex-CEO Markus Braun and two former managers will go on trial for fraud.Here are key things to know about the scandal, which has drawn comparisons with the massive accounting fraud that brought down US energy giant Enron in the early 2000s.Founded in 1999 near Munich, Wirecard started out processing online payments for porn and gambling websites. The stable stream of revenues helped it survive the dotcom crisis.As more savoury forms of online commerce ramped up over the years, Wirecard's star rose.With Braun in charge from 2002, the company grew at breakneck speed, expanding its services into banking and buying up smaller payment companies, especially in Asia.In 2018, Wirecard elbowed traditional lender Commerzbank out of the blue-chip DAX index, reinforcing its reputation as a rare German success story in the booming fintech sector.At its peak, the company was valued at more than 24 billion euros ($25 billion), outweighing even Deutsche Bank.But Wirecard's share price suffered when a series of articles in the Financial Times in 2019 alleged accounting irregularities at Wirecard's Asian units.In June 2020, the company admitted to auditor EY that 1.9 billion euros in cash meant to be held in two Philippine accounts likely didn't exist.-Fin24

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