COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Allan Gray takes over 10% stake in Spar

Long-term focused Allan Gray, which is Africa's biggest privately-owned investment manager, has built up its stake in retailer Spar to just over 10%.

The firm, which had assets under management of R335 billion at the end of 2022, held a 3.55% stake in Spar at the end of the retailer's year to end-September.

Then, Spar's two largest shareholders were the Public Investment Corporation and Coronation Fund Managers, which both held about 15%, implying Allan Gray may now be its third-biggest shareholder.

Spar, now valued at about R18 billion on the JSE, has seen its shares crash almost a quarter over the past week, having warned on 31 May that its half-year profit could fall by more than a third. Its results were hit by difficulties in implementing upgrades to the SAP software system that manages its operations, as well as load shedding.

Analysts have said the uncertainty around timing involved in implementing the new IT system is being compounded by a bleak outlook for retailers generally, who are facing increased costs of load shedding as consumers struggle with higher interest rates and elevated inflation.-Fin24

Renergen jumps 8% after securing R14bn

Shares of Renergen, a natural gas and helium producer, jumped almost 8% on Wednesday after it said it secured R14.3 billion in debt funding for the construction of phase 2 of its Virginia Gas Project in the Free State.

The group said it had secured approval for US$500 million senior debt funding from the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and a further US$250 million debt facility from Standard Bank.

The DFC, an agency of the US government which funds developmental projects in other countries, previously provided Renergen with US$40 million in funding for the construction of phase 1 of the project.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is viewed as a critical component of energy supply, while helium is also one of 35 mineral commodities identified by Washington as critical to its economic and national security.

Phase one of the Virginia project sees the production of about 350kg of helium and 50 tonnes of LNG per day. In phase two, this will ramp up to five tonnes of helium and 700 tonnes of LNG per day.-Fin24

African Bank crashes into loss

African Bank, which emerged out of one of SA's biggest banking collapses, said on Wednesday it swung into an interim loss after pressure on its customers as a result of a deteriorating economy prompted it to fork out billions of rands for credit impairments.

The group reported a loss of R44 million to end-March, from a profit of R372 million previously, with credit impairments surging 240% to R2.2 billion due to pressure in its consumer banking division. But about a third of that R2.2 billion was because of the growth in the bank's lending book.

Just under 36%, or R11.7 billion, of loans in the group's consumer banking unit are considered stage 3 loans, or loans that have seen more than three missed payments. While this is down from 37.7% in the prior half year, African Bank, which says it is conservative when it comes to such provisions, increased its coverage - money set aside for future expected losses - to over 70% from almost 63%.

"The general stress in the macro-environment has rendered our customers unable to meet obligations as they fall due," CEO of African Bank's newly formed consumer banking division, Sibongiseni Ngundze, said during an investor presentation.-Fin24