Company news in brief

Vodacom’s profit take hitSouth Africa's biggest mobile operator Vodacom slipped more than 3% yesterday when it said a revenue pick up of a quarter was unable to offset woes including currency devaluation in Egypt and start-up losses in Ethiopia.Revenue climbed about 26% to R150 billion in the year to end-February, Vodacom announced on Monday, helped by an acquisition in Egypt in its 2023 year - now its second-biggest market.But headline earnings per share still fell 10.8% to 846c, amid foreign exchange rate losses of 56c, start-up losses in Ethiopia of 21c, and higher finance costs 91c.Acquired from parent company Vodafone, Egypt has brought 48 million customers to Vodacom, taking the total to more than 203 million users. Egypt contributed about R13.1 billion to group core profit, or about 23%, but a sharp devaluation in that country's currency offset a strong operational result in the country.Finance costs also shot up almost 47% to about R8.1 billion amid higher interest rates, and the group's total dividend dropped about 12% to R5.90 per share. In morning trade yesterday, Vodacom had fallen about 3% and has lost more than 18% in the past year, valuing it at about R190 billion.Vodacom has just under 52 million people connected to its network in South Africa, while another 54 million connections are spread between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Tanzania and Lesotho. The balance is in Kenya and Ethiopia, operated through Safaricom. - Fin24WeBuyCars suffers lossWhile its April listing on the JSE contributed to a half-year loss, vehicle dealer WeBuyCars has managed to cut its debt by a fifth.On Monday, the company posted a 27% increase in core headline earnings to R402 million in the six months to end-March and a revenue hike of almost 16% to R11.4 billion. The group said it continued to gain market share amid an expanding footprint, with monthly sales volumes surpassing 14 000 units in two of the last three months.The group bought 81 785 vehicles over the past six months, and sold 80 538 units - an increase of almost 14% and more than 13%, respectively. But the group, now valued at almost R9 billion on the JSE, still posted a half-year loss of almost R70 million from a similar amount of profit previously.The 23-year-old WeBuyCars had been spun off from beleaguered Transaction Capital in mid-April, with the group becoming the JSE's first listing of 2024. This added R45 million in listing costs, such as legal fees. The group also recognised a loss of R427 million on a call option which gave it the right to buy a 25% stake in the group from the WeBuyCars founders. This call option has now been derecognised.During an investor presentation, however, CFO Chris Rein said the call option was once-off and non-cash. "I can confirm that there are no other Transaction Capital legacy issues on the balance sheet of WeBuyCars," he said.Strong cash generation helped the group cut its net debt by 19.5% to R1.2 billion, and it will be considering a final dividend, aiming to declare and pay between 25% and 33% of headline earnings. - Fin24Sibanye seeks temporary reprieve from lendersAs earnings dive amid low metal prices and in the wake of an extensive restructuring, Sibanye-Stillwater said it was exploring ways to unlock cash while engaging its lenders about temporarily raising its debt covenants.In an operational update for the three months ended in March, the precious metals miner reported a 72% decline in adjusted core profit to R2.1 billion for the quarter from the prior year.This resulted from a significant decline in Platinum Group Metal (PGM) prices during the course of 2023, compounded by lower production and higher residual cost from the restructuring of the SA gold and PGM operations. PGM basket prices were as much as 34% lower year-on-year.The group said it would be looking to increase its liquidity through a number of non-debt instruments, such as pre-pays and streams, referring to upfront payments for metals, and "proactively engaging our lenders on temporarily raising our lending covenants".The PGM sector is under general pressure, with all the major miners embarking on job cuts as a result, and Sibanye has seen its shares crash more than 40% over the past year, valuing it at about R64 billion on the JSE.In February, Sibanye announced a cut of almost 2 000 jobs from its PGM operations, mostly through voluntary separation packages, while in December, it had also retrenched 575 employees from its Kloof 4 shaft following a consultation process that commenced in September. In a process that affected almost 2 400 employees, 550 also accepted voluntary separation or early retirement packages.In April, it had announced another process at its gold operations that could see 4 000 jobs cut. - Fin24KWV gets boost from new shareholdersWine and spirits group KWV has announced that Mike Teke-chaired Masimong Group and Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) have become new shareholders.KWV said Masimong Group and RMB recognise the potential for growth in the industry and value KWV's consistent history of value creation, it said. Along with the potential capital investment and access to additional funding, the partners would also be able to provide valuable insights and connections in terms of their astute advisors.Their expertise will be pivotal in advising on potential acquisitions and exploring new market opportunities, KWV said.KWV, which celebrated its centenary in 2018, will continue to be majority owned by Vasari Beverages, with the group also declining to give details on the new stakes. Along with its wine brands, such as Laborie, its other brands include Ponchos Tequila, Paddy Irish Whiskey and Wild Africa Cream.Masimong Group was established in 2013 as an investment holding company focused on empowerment, growth and value creation. It holds stakes in, among other companies, Seriti Resources and Masimong Energy, as well as Mouton Holdings, which has interests in citrus and rooibos.RMB is a top African corporate and investment bank and has a long-standing partnership with the Masimong Group. - Fin24Amazon to invest US$1.3bn in FranceAmazon said yesterday it would invest more than 1.2 billion euros (US$1.3 billion) in its French operations and create more than 3 000 permanent jobs in the country.The French presidency had said on Sunday that Amazon and other companies, including GSK and Accenture, would announce investments worth billions as part of the country's annual "Choose France" event, which began yesterday.Amazon has invested more than 20 billion euros in its French operations since 2010 and employs more than 22 000 permanent employees across its cloud and online retail businesses."These jobs are in addition to the 2 000 jobs we announced for 2024," said Frédéric Duval, country manager at Amazon France.A part of the investment would also be used to expand its logistics network to increase speed of delivery and reduce carbon emissions. It has more than 35 logistics facilities in France. - Reuters

Company news in brief

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