Company news in brief

SAA in talks to roll over billions of debt

South Africa's state-owned airline is in talks with lenders about rolling over US$650 million of debt due next month, its finance chief said on Monday, a move that would give the struggling company breathing space to push through a turnaround plan.

Chief financial officer Deon Fredericks said the airline was in talks with lenders about potentially extending the maturity of the R9.2 billion debt due at the end of March by between four and five years.

Fredericks also said the airline had enough money to last until June after securing financing from lenders last week amounting to R3.5 billion. From June, the company would need a further R4 billion, which should carry it to the end of the 2021 fiscal year, in March 2022, he said. The airline expects to turn profitable in fiscal 2021 with no need for government bailouts.

Rolling over the debt for the long term and securing fresh capital would give the executive team led by former mobile phone firm Vodacom executive Vuyani Jarana room to focus on executing the turnaround plan.

At the heart of the strategy is the reorganisation of SAA into three business units focusing on the domestic market, the rest of Africa and the international market, Jarana said. Each unit will have its own management, rather than decisions being centralised, in a bid to make the airline more agile and increase accountability. – Nampa/Reuters

Defence group Denel to seek investment partners

South Africa's state-owned defence group Denel could sell stakes in some divisions as part of a new strategy to return to profitability within two years, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

The company has also asked the government for financial support to help underpin a strategy its board approved last week, Daniel du Toit told Reuters in an interview.

The strategy includes seeking equity partners in some of its core divisions, although a stake in the group is not for sale. It could also sell manufacturing and technology licences.

Denel, a cornerstone of South Africa's once-mighty defence industry, has been plagued by years of mismanagement. Du Toit was named as new chief executive in December as the government tries to turn around the cash-strapped company.

Reuters reported in November that Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) had made a US$1 billion bid for a broad partnership with Denel. Du Toit said he was not aware of an offer by Saudi Arabia.

SAMI CEO Andreas Schwer said this week the state-owned defence firm was in talks to invest in several South African companies but it had not made a formal decision. – Nampa/Reuters

South32 to cut 500 jobs at aluminium smelter

South32 could cut about 500 jobs at its Hillside aluminium smelter in South Africa's coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal, trade union Solidarity said, in a restructuring the company said is designed to reduce costs and help it contend with volatility in commodities markets.

Job cuts in Africa's most industrialised economy are politically sensitive, with the unemployment rate at more than 27% ahead of national elections this year.

South32, which also has manganese mines in South Africa, said it had informed employees at the smelter that it intends to begin consultations over job cuts.

South32 is the latest mining company to cut jobs after Sibanye-Stillwater last week said that it could cut nearly 6 000 jobs in a potential restructuring of the company's gold mining operations after losses at some of its mines last year.

SA billionaire says he won't buy Eskom assets

South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe said on Monday that he would not buy any assets which struggling state power firm Eskom puts up for sale, in response to speculation that he was eyeing an Eskom financial subsidiary.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is Motsepe's brother-in-law, this month unveiled a plan to split Eskom into three units to boost efficiency, which some analysts see as a path to privatising the utility.

Motsepe's African Rainbow Capital was reportedly eyeing some or all of Eskom Finance Company, an Eskom subsidiary which lends to employees and which the government put up for sale as part of efforts to shore up the company's balance sheet.

Motsepe, the country's richest black businessman, who is also the brother-in-law of energy minister Jeff Radebe, said: "Having relatives in very high positions in government justifiably raises perceptions of favouritism."

Motsepe, who also has a large stake in mining company African Rainbow Minerals, also denied on Monday that he had unduly profited from his investments in renewable energy. – Nampa/Reuters

Global miner BHP Group H1 profit falls

The world’s biggest miner BHP Group said on Tuesday its first-half profit fell 8% as copper earnings slumped because of declining ore quality at its Escondida mine and a number of production outages globally.

Underlying profit from continuing operations for the six months that ended on December 31 fell to US$4.03 billion from US$4.40 billion a year ago, the company said in a statement. That missed consensus estimates compiled by Vuma Financial of US$4.209 billion.

Revenue from continuing operations rose 1% during the period to US$20.74 billion. Earnings before income tax, depreciation and amortisation from copper fell nearly 40% in the first half.

However, the miner slightly raised its 2019 copper production forecast to between about 1.6 million tonnes and 1.7 million tonnes. – Nampa/Reuters