Company news in business

Woolworths’ David Jones sale progressingWoolworths is nearing a deal to sell Australia’s oldest department store chain David Jones to Anchorage Capital Partners for about A$130 million (R1.6 billion), according to people familiar with the matter.The parties are ironing out final details of the transaction, which could be announced as soon as next week, said the people, who asked not to be named as they aren’t authorised to speak publicly. As part of the deal, Johannesburg-listed Woolworths plans to retain ownership of its flagship Melbourne city real estate, which it will lease to David Jones, the people said.There is no guarantee such a deal will eventuate and talks could still fall through, the people said. Representatives for Anchorage and Woolworths declined to comment, while a representative for David Jones didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.A change of ownership would mark another attempt to transform the near 200-year-old David Jones after Woolworths acquired the chain in 2014 for around A$2.2 billion. Woolworths tried to replicate its successful South African upmarket food business in David Jones without success. Then the Covid-19 pandemic started, forcing store closures and putting the company on the back foot.David Jones enjoyed a 55% jump in total sales for the 20 weeks ended Nov. 13 compared to the same period a year earlier when much of Australia was under lockdown, according to a trading update. The rebound saw the retailer’s flagship CBD stores perform “well ahead of expectations,” even as online sales decreased by around 29%. – Fin24/BloombergMTN warns of SA price hikesMTN plans to increase its prices in the new year to "play catch up", with high rates of inflation in its markets and operating challenges in South Africa, group CEO Ralph Mupita said during an investor briefing."Price increases will come through in the new year in South Africa," he said.In a trading update, the group said its MTN SA’s service revenue growth slowed in the fourth quarter of 2022, blaming power outages and a challenging macroeconomic environment.The blended inflation rate in MTN’s operating markets stood at 17.2% in November 2022, up 1.8% from September.Revenue growth for the year slowed down to 3.2% for the 11 months to November, down from the 3.5% growth for the first nine months of the year."Overall group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin for the period was slightly lower when compared to the level reported for the September 2022 period, due largely to expected pressure in MTN SA," the group said. MTN's share price fell by 7% to R123.79 on Friday, down almost 30% this year. – Fin24

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