Company News in Brief

Rainbow Chicken reports R318 million in headline earnings SA's second-biggest poultry group Rainbow Chicken reported a surge in headline earnings to almost R318 million from R22 million, as it bounced back from SA's worst-ever bout of bird flu and benefitted from an easing in load shedding. Margins picked up and the group said its turnaround effort is gaining momentum, though it has opted not to pay an interim dividend. While the group said it was still concerned about the threat posed by bird flu, particularly in winter, it remains optimistic easing interest rates and the political stability that followed the establishment of the government of national unity will flow through into second-half sales.-FIN24 Canadian court sanctions BAT tobacco litigation British American Tobacco, the owner of Peter Stuyvesant, Paul Mall as well as vapour brand Vuse, said on Friday a Canadian court has sanctioned a plan that would settle all of its outstanding tobacco litigation in the country. The groups unit there, Imperial Tobacco Canada (ITCAN), has been in a form of bankruptcy protection since May 2019. That follows a Quebec court awarding damages to some 100 000 smokers and ex-smokers who alleged the companies knew since the 1950s their product was causing cancer and other illnesses but failed to warn consumers. In October, a court-appointed mediator and monitor filed a proposed plan of compromise and arrangement that would see ITCAN, along with Phillip Morris and Japan Tobacco, pay in aggregate C$32.5 billion (about R411 billion). BAT said on Friday that its announcement does not impact its 2025 guidance, which includes about 1% revenue growth, 1.5% to 2.5% adjusted profit from operations growth, its commitment on share buybacks, including £900 million (R21 billion) in 2025. "While there are still some steps that must be taken to implement the settlement, Imperial Tobacco Canada is committed to continue working with the relevant parties to complete this process as quickly as possible for the benefit of all stakeholders," the group said in a statement.-FIN24 Microsoft to spend R5.4 billion to expand SA operations US tech giant Microsoft announced on Thursday that it intends to spend R5.4 billion by the end of 2027 to expand its cloud and AI infrastructure in South Africa to meet the growing demand for Azure services in the region. This investment builds a R20.4 billion investment over the past three years to establish SA's first enterprise-grade data centres in Johannesburg and Cape Town. "This round of investment will enable a wide range of organisations, from start-ups to large multinationals and government entities to access the cloud and AI solutions to improve operational efficiency and productivity, optimise the delivery of services, and drive innovation across the South African economy," it said.-FIN24Bayer to stop selling Roundup weedkiller Bayer has told US lawmakers it could stop selling Roundup weedkiller unless they can strengthen legal protection against product liability litigation, according to a financial analyst and a person close to the matter. Bayer has paid about $10 billion (about R180 billion) to settle disputed claims that Roundup, based on the herbicide glyphosate, causes cancer. About 67 000 further cases are pending for which the group has set aside $5.9 billion in legal provisions. The German company has said plaintiffs should not be able to take Bayer to court by invoking US state rules given the federal US Environmental Protection Agency has repeatedly labelled the product as safe to use, as have regulators in other parts of the world. "Without regulatory clarity (Bayer) will need to exit the business. Bayer has been clear with legislators and farmer groups on this," analysts at brokerage Jefferies said in a note on Thursday, citing guidance Bayer's leadership provided in a meeting. Bayer, which acquired Roundup under the $63 billion takeover of Monsanto in 2018, said: "We are exploring every possibility to end this litigation." It declined to comment further. - Reuters

Company News in Brief

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