COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Kumba says profit will drop by up to 22%Kumba Iron Ore says its profit for the six months to end June will drop by up to 22% to about R10 billion. The Anglo American subsidiary said the decline in profitability is due to lower export prices and lower volumes sold as it could not rail all its production to the port during the period. "Given the Transnet rail challenges experienced to date in 2023, a portion of the waste stripping at Kapstevel South will be re-phased, resulting in Kolomela's waste guidance reducing to 45 to 55 million tonnes, from 60 to 70 million tonnes last year," said Kumba.Ore railed to the port and to its customers declined 3% to 18.4 million tonnes in the period. Kumba could not send all its stock to its customers as railway operator Transnet struggled with capacity.Among other incidents that negatively affected Kumba's business, in June, the 861km Transnet iron ore rail line from the Sishen mine in the Northern Cape to the port of Saldanha Bay on the West Coast was closed for after a 15-wagon train derailment that closed the line for more than a week. This followed a week of derailment caused by cable theft on the same line."The benefit of the collaboration between the Ore User’s Forum and Transnet on the maintenance of the iron ore export channel (IOEC) and the locust-spraying programme during the first quarter was offset by derailments resulting in the line being closed for seven days, which coincided with incidents of cable theft experienced in June," said Kumba.-Fin24Northam agrees to sell RBPlat stakeNortham Platinum has accepted rival Impala Platinum's offer to buy out its 34.5% stake in Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat).Northam, which until April was engaged in a tussle with Implats over control of RBPlat, said that the deal comprised of a cash offer of R9 billion and 30 065 866 Implats shares, roughly 3.3% of the company, valued at R4.1 billion, based on Wednesday's share price.Northam said it would continue to assess the platinum group metals (PGM) market and its operational and cash flow requirements and will "evaluate its options" with the R13.1 billion cash and share consideration."In light of the prevailing market conditions and negative medium-term outlook, the Implats mandatory offer presents a unique and attractive opportunity for Northam to lock in substantial value in relation to the disposal shares, with a strong cash underpin that has not been adversely affected by the steep decline in PGM equity valuations across the sector."CEO Paul Dunne said the disposal presented the company with a chance to strengthen its balance sheet and liquidity position.-Fin24Telkom wins legal battlePresident Cyril Ramaphosa's January 2022 proclamation for a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probe into alleged unlawful conduct by Telkom and some of its employees and agents has been declared "unconstitutional, invalid and of no force", with the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria setting aside the proclamation.The resultant SIU investigation has also been declared invalid and set aside, with the investigating unit ordered to return to Telkom all documents it obtained in pursuit of the probe. The investigation was into alleged maladministration, irregular and unapproved procurement and misappropriation of public funds. Among the complaints to be investigated was an alleged irregular relationship between Telkom and some of its suppliers, including Network Telex and a contract with British Telekom.The president, the SIU and the minister of communications and digital technologies, as well as Edward George Scott, representing a private company, had all opposed Telkom's application to set aside both the proclamation and the resultant investigation into its affairs.In upholding the application, Judge Tlhapi awarded costs against those who opposed it.-Fin24Lottoland SA takes on GoogleThe Competition Tribunal heard an interim relief application from gambling group Lottoland SA, which is seeking an order that Google Ireland and Google South Africa allow it to access the tech giant's advertising service platform. Lottoland, a licensed bookmaker, alleges that Google terminated its access to Google's advertising services without any legitimate justification and "singled it out" while allowing other gambling entities to advertise.The company has submitted "an abuse of dominance" complaint to the Competition Commission, while seeking at least six months' interim relief, or until the commission makes a ruling on its case.Lottoland provides fixed-odds betting, or in the case of lotteries, a bet on the likelihood that the numbers you selected might be drawn. Google maintained Lottoland's landing page - or standalone page created for marketing - violated its internal policies, and potentially legislation.This includes that fixed-odds bets on National Lotteries could contravene the National Lotteries Act, a matter that has been before SA's courts.-Fin24Acquisitive Super Group inks deal for AmcoAcquisitive logistics, fleet and dealership company Super Group said it had reached a £30.3 million (R700 million) to gain control of UK transport firm Amco, part of its ongoing strategy of pursuing market share gains across Europe.The deal will see Super Group acquire 78.82% of Amco, which was founded in 1983 and has 11 UK operating locations and hubs strategically located across Europe. Amco delivers its logistics services to over 250 active UK and European customers that operate in a diverse range of manufacturing sectors - including automotive, telecommunications, retail, construction, mining and fast-moving consumer goods, the group said.Super Group, valued at about R11.5 billion on the JSE, provides logistics services in SA, across Europe as well as in Australasia, and employed more than 14 000 people in 21 countries as of its 2022 year. It generates about half of its revenue in SA, while it also operates one of the largest independently owned Ford franchise networks in the UK.Super Group has been acquisitive of late, citing its relatively low debt levels, making four acquisitions in its half-year to end December in the last-mile delivery industry.The group said the acquisition gave it a footprint in an industry with high barriers to entry, offering among other things, well-established relationships with equipment manufacturers, investments in value-added services, such as fulfilling e-commerce demands, as well as third-party logistics partners.-Fin24Nokia profit fallsFinnish telecommunications equipment maker Nokia reported a sharp fall in second-quarter profits on Thursday, dragged down by a drop in investment by North American mobile phone operators.The company, which is competing with Swedish rival Ericsson and China's Huawei in the global rollout of 5G equipment, said the deployment in India drove growth for its mobile network business.But net sales fell in North America as clients continue to review their spending and reduce their inventory levels.Nokia said its net profit fell by 37 percent to 289 million euros in the second quarter compared to the same period last year — well below the two billion euros forecast in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.Net sales reached 5.7 billion euros, down three percent, though they were flat on a constant currency basis.Net sales fell by 42 percent in North America alone while soaring by 333 percent in India. Macroeconomic "uncertainty" weighed on sales of network infrastructure.-Fin24

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