Company news in brief

SA's Bidvest confirms Madisa as CEO-in-waitingSouth African conglomerate Bidvest confirmed on Monday that executive director Mpumi Madisa will succeed Lindsay Ralphs as chief executive from 2021, as it reported rising earnings in the last six months of 2018.Bidvest, whose business still spans freight, automotive, aviation services and office and print, reported a 9.6% rise in headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months ended December to 629.1 cents from 574 cents a year earlier.Normalised HEPS, which exclude acquisition costs and amortisation of acquired customer contracts, were 635.7 cents, while the group's trading profit increased 6.3% to R3.3 billion.The results were bolstered by services, freight and office and print divisions, despite a sluggish economy and political uncertainty, the group said, ahead of elections in May.Bidvest, which also operates in financial services and automotive retailing, declared an interim dividend of 282 cents per share, up 10.6%. – Nampa/ReutersSA appoints experts to lead Eskom reformSouth Africa has appointed 11 industry experts to investigate failures at power company Eskom's ageing coal-fired stations and other breakdowns that have caused the worst electricity shortages in a decade, the government said on Monday.Problems at Eskom include a R420 billion debt pile, massive corruption scandals, and the latest round of national electricity power outages have rattled investors' confidence in president Cyril Ramaphosa's vow to revive economic growth.Ramaphosa has promised to split Eskom into three entities to make it more efficient but faces intense opposition from labour unions, and last month's announcement of a R69 billion bailout for the firm has received lukewarm reaction from ratings firms.On Friday, S&P Global Ratings upped Eskom's outlook to stable from negative but warned the government bailout was not enough to cover the firm's funding requirements, again exposing the threat Eskom poses to the sovereign rating which is one step from junk."The technical review team includes academic, engineering and power systems professionals and is required to conduct a rapid but intensive review of the operations, maintenance and the technical environment at Eskom power stations within four weeks of commencing their work," minister of public enterprises Pravin Gordhan said in a statement. – Nampa/ReutersNewmont rejects Barrick's buyout offerNewmont Mining Corp rejected rival Barrick Gold Corp's US$18 billion buyout offer on Monday, but proposed a joint venture in Nevada instead, a deal worth billions that would create a major operator in the largest US gold-producing region.Both the buyout rejection and the JV proposal were expected.In a statement later on Monday, Barrick CEO Mark Bristow said the JV proposal was "stale and convoluted" and that both companies' Nevada assets would be better run by a single company.The proposed Barrick deal would combine two of the biggest gold producers in the world at a time when both companies are trying to bolster shrinking gold reserves to boost growth as well as take advantage of rising prices.Newmont said its Canadian rival's all-stock offer was not in the best interest of its shareholders as it was offered at a discount. – Nampa/ReutersMorocco's OCP plans African chemical plantsMorocco's OCP Group, expects to reach a deal this year to build a Nigerian ammonia plant and to start production at a US$3.7 billion chemical plant in Ethiopia by 2023/24, the chief executive of its OCP Africa subsidiary told Reuters.The world's largest phosphate exporter, which is 95% state-owned, is also considering a factory in Ghana in 2020 as it seeks to bring customised fertilisers closer to key African markets, Karim Lotfi Senhaji told Reuters.Like many other Moroccan firms, including banks and insurers, OCP has been expanding its investments in Sub-Saharan Africa in recent years, boosting the kingdom's economic clout.Lotfi Senhaji said the Nigerian plant would cost US$1.5 billion and would have a total capacity of 1 million tonnes of ammonia.The group plans a blending facility in Rwanda, three in Nigeria, one in Ivory Coast, five in Ethiopia and one in Ghana, with each costing between US$8 million and US$12 million. "These will be launched in 2019 and we expect to have them ready in 2020," he said. – Nampa/ReutersSpotify adds 1 mln unique listeners in IndiaSpotify Technology SA, the world's most popular paid music streaming service, said it racked up more than 1 million unique users in India across its free and premium tiers since launching less than a week ago.Spotify launched in India last Tuesday, stepping into a price-sensitive market crowded by well-funded players such as JioSaavn and Apple Music.The Swedish company is offering a free version that will run with ads, alongside a premium ad-free variant that will charge users 119 Indian rupees (US$1.68) per month. – Nampa/ReutersEli Lilly seeks to quell drug price angerDrugmaker Eli Lilly announced plans on Monday to sell a half-price version of its popular insulin injection Humalog, as it fends off criticism about rising drug prices in the United States.Major drugmakers including Lilly, a leading producer of insulin, have come under fire from patients and lawmakers over the rising cost of the life-saving medication used to treat diabetes.Lilly's rebranded product will be called Insulin Lispro, while Humalog, which makes US$3 billion in annual sales, will remain available for those wishing to access it through existing insurance plans.The cost of insulin for treating type 1 diabetes in the United States has nearly doubled over a five-year period, leading some patients to put their own health at risk by rationing the medication.Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi SA, two other major insulin producers, told Reuters they were already taking steps to make insulin more affordable. – Nampa/Reuters

Company news in brief

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