COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Implats flags earnings slump

Impala Platinum has warned that earnings for the year ended in June will drop more than a third due to lower metal prices and a toxic cocktail of other SA-specific factors.

In a trading statement released on Tuesday, Implats said headline earnings for the financial year will fall as much as much as 44% to R18 billion, amid an 18% fall in the dollar metal price, partially offset by a 16% weaker rand. Basic earnings are expected to fall as much as much as 88%.

The impact of the increased frequency and severity of load curtailment - where large users are directly asked to reduce power usage - and cable theft resulted in a cumulative loss of around 147 000 ounces of the basket of six metals it produces.

The miner, which produces ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum, said cash costs continued to be hit by higher inflation and the impact of the weaker rand on the translated costs of Zimplats in Zimbabwe and Impala Canada.

The lower US dollar rhodium price at the end of the period resulted in a R2.1 billion post-tax write-down of closing inventory, which also negatively impacted earnings.

Shares in the group, which will release its results at the end of August, were down almost 1% in late morning trade and have more than halved in the year to date.-Fin24

South32, BHP Billiton hit with class action

Coal miners who have suffered health impacts and families of the deceased have lodged a class action against global mining giants South32, BHP Billiton and Seriti Power.

Richard Spoor Incorporated (RSI), the attorneys representing the miners, filed the application in the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Local Division, on Tuesday. It comes five years after Spoor and Motley Rice attorneys – one of the largest plaintiffs' litigation firms in the US – successfully negotiated the historic class action settlement for workers who contracted silicosis in gold mines. The settlement was reached with Harmony Gold, Gold Fields, African Rainbow Minerals, Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti and Anglo-American.

Motley Rice is also involved in this class action - supporting the applicants' legal team as consultants.

In this matter, the applicants want to hold South32, BHP Billiton and Seriti Power responsible for actions dating as far back as 12 March 1965.

"The applicants argue that South32, BHP Billiton and Seriti Power breached the legal duties owed to the miners by failing to implement statutorily mandated procedures and protections. As a result, the miners developed incurable lung diseases," a statement from Richard Spoor read.-Fin24

Merafe Resources jumps 10%

Shares in Merafe Resources, the junior partner in a joint venture in Glencore's SA operations, jumped more than 10% on Tuesday morning, when it reported that a weaker rand and higher chrome prices helped it up its interim dividend by two-thirds.

Net cash climbed more than a quarter to R1.6 billion in the six months to end-June, the group said on Tuesday, when chrome ore prices remained elevated due to a lack of supply growth and continued logistics constraints out of SA, which represents over 90% of global seaborne trade. This echoes similar comments by JSE-listed Tharisa resources.

Merafe, valued at over R3 billion on the JSE, is part of a joint venture with mining and trading giant Glencore - formerly Xstrata - formed the 2004. They had pooled their chrome operations, with Merafe receiving 20.5% of the core profit from the venture. During its half year, it also received a boost from an 18% weakening of the average rand to dollar exchange rate.

The group upped its dividend two thirds to 20c per share, about a R500 million payout.

"Logistics challenges continue with not much improvement in rail availability," the group said. "The chrome industry and Transnet Freight Rail continue to collaborate on improving rail performance."-Fin24

Resilient to spend about R1billion

Retail-focused landlord Resilient said on Tuesday it has cut its interim distribution by double-digits after a hit from higher interest rates and a lower contribution from investees, but it's still pressing ahead with an about R1 billion solar spend as it looks to insulate its SA malls from load shedding.

Resilient said on Tuesday its distributable earnings fell about 16% to R681 million in the six months to end-June, hit by a lower contribution from UK mall owner Hammerson, and it has now sold most of its direct stake in that business as looks to fund its solar rollout.

Resilient, valued at over R15 billion on the JSE, held about 4% of Hammerson as of 2022, but also owned almost 31% of Lighthouse Properties, which in turn owned just over 22% of Hammerson.

The company has previously expressed surprise at Hammerson's decision not to declare a dividend in its second half of 2022, saying on Tuesday Hammerson's dividend in respect of the first half of 2023 was based on a payout ratio of 65% of its adjusted earnings.

"This is below industry best practice of at least 85% and impacted Resilient’s distribution on its holding as well as through its investment in Lighthouse."-Fin24

Takealot.com launches an on-demand service

Takealot.com is piloting an on-demand service in Cape Town that will see it delivering everything from laptops to toys and makeup to its customers within an hour.

The new 60-minute service, called TakealotNOW, sees SA's largest ecommerce site, which is owned by the Takealot Group, entering a market that up until now has largely been the preserve of the country's grocery retailers.

To manage the logistics of it, a section of Mr D, also owned by the Takealot Group, will be specially dedicated to the new service that will deliver a range of products up until 22:00 at night. It is also offering free delivery for the first month.

Initially, the service will only be available in Cape Town's northern suburbs, namely Durbanville, Belville, Brackenfell, Kraaifontein, Kuilsriver and Parow, with plans to expand.

Frederik Zietsman, CEO at Takelot.com, said in a statement that SA's online shoppers were increasingly becoming accustomed to fast turnarounds on grocery deliveries and that the retailer had noticed a "steady increase in sales in certain categories when we offer our popular same-day, next-day delivery or collection options".-Fin24

Mr D CEO Alex Wörz said TakealotNOW was an opportunity to scale across the country, using a 15 000-strong distribution network of delivery partners.-Fin24

Creecy sued over alleged ArcelorMittal pollution

South Africa’s environment minister, the national air-quality officer and the local unit of ArcelorMittal SA have been sued by environmental activists for allegedly not acting against the company over its air pollution.

The Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance and groundWork filed the case in the High Court case, they said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. They allege the government has not acted to curb ArcelorMittal South Africa's emissions of pollutants including hydrogen sulfide from the continent’s biggest steel plant in Vanderbijlpark, south of Johannesburg.

The suit mirrors an earlier case, won by activists including groundWork in 2022, against the government over air pollution from coal-fired plants operated by Eskom and Sasol.

In that case, High Court Judge Colleen Collis ruled that Environment Minister Barbara Creecy was constitutionally obliged to enact and enforce rules to ensure cleaner air. The government has appealed.

In the current case, the activists allege that Arcelor’s South African unit has failed to improve air pollution for decades and even when it has fitted pollution-abatement equipment, it has failed. The government has acted leniently and eased emission limits for the company, the parties bringing the case allege.-Fin24