COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

MTN demands extraordinary meetingAfrica's largest mobile operator, MTN, has called for an extraordinary shareholders' meeting of New York-listed IHS Towers as it battles the group's board over voting rights.MTN holds 26% of IHS, which was founded in Nigeria and operates nearly 40 000 towers in Africa, the Middle East and South America, but its voting rights are capped at 20%.According to Bloomberg, MTN, along with French investment company Wendel – which owns 19% – demands that those holding 10% or more of IHS get to nominate board members, but this had been dismissed by IHS.The group said on Tuesday it has been engaging IHS on corporate governance matters, including on its voting rights, but IHS failed to notify shareholders of its proposal or allow them to vote on it at its annual meeting on 7 June.MTN doesn't have a representative on the IHS board, although its former CEO, Phuthuma Nhleko, is a non-executive director.MTN said on Tuesday it "strongly believes that IHS has wilfully breached" its shareholder agreement by failing to place the proposal on the agenda, notify all other shareholders, and allow them to vote on it.IHS didn't immediately respond to questions sent by News24 on Tuesday, but told Bloomberg earlier in June it didn't consider the proposal to be in the best interest of its shareholders as a collective.-Fin24First SABC CEO to complete full termSABC group CEO Madoda Mxakwe is leaving his position at the end of June, making him the first person to complete a full five-year contract at the helm of the troubled broadcaster in 15 years.The SABC announced on Monday that Mxakwe joined the SABC in 2018 "at a time when it was facing governance failures, corruption, gross mismanagement, and a crippling financial situation"."Over the past five years, Mr Mxakwe and the management team worked closely with all employees and the board to reverse the dire situation, setting the public broadcaster on a recovery path and rebuilding its credibility. Although the financial sustainability challenges still persist, the SABC stabilized under his leadership," the broadcaster said.Nada Wotshela, the SABC's current group executive for radio, has been appointed acting CEO."The board is confident of Ms Wotshela’s abilities in steering the public broadcaster during this time. We implore the SABC’s stakeholders, internally and externally, to support her during this period."The recruitment process for a new group CEO is currently underway.The broadcaster was without a board for six months before President Cyril Ramaphosa finally appointed a new one in April.-Fin24Standard Bank's impairments surgeAfrica's biggest lender Standard Bank says more customers are falling behind with their debt repayments after a rapid rise in interest rates, while it is also battling with increased risk of sovereign defaults on the continent.In an update on Tuesday, it warned impairment charges surged almost 50% in the five months to end-May, hit by consumer strain, greater risk of sovereign defaults, but also growth in its loan book."Credit impairments related to consumer banking customers are currently elevated, primarily in SA and, particularly, in home loans, on the back of rapid interest rate hikes and sustained high inflation levels, which has resulted in some customers being unable to meet their debt obligations in full," wrote the bank in the trading update.Despite this, the group, valued at over R300 billion on the JSE, still expects headline earnings per share to grow more than 20% in its half-year to end-June. It said on Tuesday it had been boosted by the endowment impact of higher interest rates, which means debtors need to pay more on their loans, as well as "improved customer activity levels.'Standard Bank said that while its credit loss ratio at the group level was still within its target range of 70 to 100 basis points, it's now outside the scope the bank set for itself in the consumer banking unit. That unit's has a credit loss ratio of 100 to 150 basis points through the cycle. However, the bank said its coverage levels remain strong.-Fin24Carlos Ghosn sues Nissan for US$1 billionFormer Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn has sued the company for more than US$1 billion (R18.4 billion) in a lawsuit filed to Lebanon's public prosecutor last month, according to a copy of the lawsuit seen by Reuters.The May 18 lawsuit accuses Nissan along with two other companies and 12 named individuals of crimes including defamation, slander and libel, and fabricating material evidence. There was no immediate comment from Nissan.Ghosn, once a titan of the global car industry, was arrested in Japan in late 2018 and charged with financial misconduct. He denied the charge and said his detention was part of a plot by Nissan executives to block a merger.He escaped Japan hidden in a box aboard a private jet in December 2019, fleeing to Lebanon, his childhood home.Ghosn had been awaiting trial in Japan on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds - accusations he has repeatedly denied.After arriving in Lebanon, Ghosn said he was escaping a "rigged" justice system in Japan and he aimed to clear his name.-Fin24Afrimat acquires Lafarge South AfricaMining and building materials group Afrimat has inked a roughly R1 billion deal to acquire the SA unit of the world's largest building materials group Holcim. The group's shares surged by double-digits, with one analyst describing it as a "sweet deal."The deal will see Afrimat, valued at about R9.2 billion on the JSE, pay US$6 million (about R110 million) for Lafarge South Africa, as well as take on its R900 million in debt.Lafarge entered SA in 1998 and offers a range of products to the SA construction industry, including aggregates, concrete, cement and fly ash - which can increase the durability of concrete. The acquisition forms part of Afrimat's goal of growing its local footprint.Lafarge SA had a net asset value of R1.4 billion at the end of its year to end-December, when its core profit slumped to R38 million, from R311 million in 2021.Swiss-based Holcim was formed out of the 2015 merger between France's Lafarge and the original company, which was renamed Holcim in 2021. The company had been paring back its operations in developing countries in order to focus on mature markets, including North America.-Fin24City Lodge flags return to profitHotel operator City Lodge said on Tuesday it expects to report a full-year profit in its year to end-June, with occupancies showing continued improvement so far in 2023 and still exceeding pre-pandemic levels.Headline earnings per share are expected to improve more than 100% from its 8.7c loss per share reported previously, the group said in a voluntary update, adding it intends to release a more detailed update when it has more details.City Lodge, valued at R3 billion on the JSE, operated 59 hotels and over 7 000 rooms as the end of its 2022 year, when it made a headline loss of R49.5 million.It, however, swung back into profit in the first half of its 2023 year, recording headline earnings of R97.9 million, also opting to restore its dividend after a three-year break.After an "extraordinarily strong festive season," January’s performance was soft, but monthly occupancies have since steadily improved and exceeded 2019 occupancy levels, peaking in March 2023 at 63%.-Fin24

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