Company news in brief

Botswana's bourse threatens to delist ChoppiesBotswana's stock exchange said on Tuesday it could terminate Choppies Enterprises' listing over the failure by the budget retailer to publish financial results on time.Choppies, which operates in eight African countries, had failed to release its annual results for the year to the end of June within three months of a period stipulated by the bourse."Shareholders are therefore cautioned that Choppies shares are under threat of suspension and possible termination," the Botswana Stock Exchange Limited (BSEL) said in a statement.Choppies could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. In September, Choppies said the delay was due to its new auditors' reassessment of the company's balance sheet.The firm said it appointed new external auditors in January 2018 who have since raised questions with a number of the company's past accounting practices and policies including valuation of inventory, impairments on property, plant equipment and value of acquisitions by its South African subsidiary. – Nampa/ReutersDis-Chem profit up as market share increasesSouth African pharmacy group Dis-Chem's half-year profit on a per share basis rose 10.5% as it lifted its market share across all divisions.The drugstore chain said diluted headline earnings per share (HEPS) was 51.7 cents, compared with 46.8 cents per share for the six-month period ended August 2017.Dis-Chem said the 1% VAT increase in April along with the fuel price increases had dampened trading in April and July.Group turnover grew by 9.4% to R10.5 billion from R9.6 billion rand. Dis-Chem declared a gross dividend of 20.69 cents per share. – Nampa/ReutersGlobal dairy prices fall for 5th auction in a rowGlobal dairy prices fell for the fifth time in a row at an auction early yesterday as supply remained robust from largest seller New Zealand and other areas of the world.The GDT Price Index dipped 0.3%, with an average selling price of US$2 885 per tonne at the fortnightly auction. The index fell 1.9% at the previous sale, according to GDT Events.Prices for the most widely traded item, whole milk powder (WMP), fell 0.9%.A strong recovery in production in New Zealand, as well as in Europe, the United States and Latin America, mostly because of favourable weather, was pushing prices down despite strong demand, particularly from Asia.A total of 41 945 tonnes was sold at the latest auction, falling 0.1% from the previous one, the auction platform said on its website. The auctions are held twice a month, with the next one scheduled for Nov. 6.Anglo sees Minas Rio target reached around 2021Anglo American Plc should restart operations at its Brazilian Minas Rio iron ore mine in November or December and a planned ramp-up to 26.5 million tonnes per year is likely to be reached in 2021, the miner's Brazil chief said on Tuesday.The company halted production at the Minas Rio mine after two leaks in March in a pipeline that channels slurry more than 500 km from the mine in Minas Gerais state to a port in Rio de Janeiro state.Purchased at the height of the commodities boom a decade ago for US$5.5 billion, Minas Rio is Anglo American's biggest development project. The London-based company was once counting on Minas-Rio to produce 26.5 million tonnes of iron ore by 2016. As the project hit delays, it had shifted to an output goal of 24 million to 26.5 million tonnes for 2020.The company reiterated its prior estimate of a US$300 million to US$400 million impact on earnings from the spills this year.In June, Reuters reported that Anglo American had suspended a nearly US$1 billion annual contract to supply Bahrain Steel with iron ore by declaring force majeure in April after the spills. – Nampa/ReutersBHP’s Q1 iron-ore output jumpsThe world's biggest miner, BHP, said yesterday its first-quarter iron ore production rose 8% on strong Chinese demand for high-grade ore, but cut its fiscal 2019 guidance for copper production, citing outages at key mines.BHP trimmed its 2019 copper production forecast by about 3% to a range of 1.62 million tonnes to 1.71 million tonnes, citing reduced production at its Spence and Olympic Dam mines in Chile and Australia, respectively.BHP's iron ore output rose to 69 million tonnes during the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with 64 million tonnes a year ago. That was in line with UBS's estimate of 68.8 million tonnes.The Anglo-Australian miner maintained its fiscal 2019 guidance of 273 million to 283 million tonnes of iron ore.China's iron ore imports this year have held remarkably steady, suggesting that demand by the world's second-biggest economy has not been much affected by the trade dispute with the United States. – Nampa/Reuters

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