Company news in brief

Govt working to ensure SAA's survivalThe South African government is working on "immediate actions" to ensure cash-strapped South African Airways' (SAA) survival, the public enterprises ministry said on Wednesday, warning the airline could not "continue as is".The airline needs to secure more than R2 billion of working capital to continue operations, but commercial banks won't lend SAA more money without additional state guarantees.Finance minister Tito Mboweni is trying to wean ailing state firms off government support and has not yet granted those guarantees.The public enterprises ministry, which oversees SAA, said it was working with SAA to enable it to carry on its business. But it said "SAA cannot continue as is" and that further details would be provided over the next week.Investors want to see evidence that South Africa is serious about reining in runaway spending. Moody's is the last of the three big international ratings agencies to have South Africa's sovereign debt in investment grade but has a negative outlook on that rating. – Nampa/ReutersFastJet in talks to sell Zim businessCash-strapped FastJet said on Wednesday it is in talks to sell its Zimbabwean operations to a consortium led by its biggest shareholder Solenta Aviation for US$8 million, a deal which could give the low-cost carrier money to stay alive as a company until 2021.The company, whose shares plummeted 32% to a fresh record low after the announcement, said it was also in talks with some of its major shareholders for a cash call.FastJet said if the restructuring plans do not pan out by the end of February, the Africa-focussed company would not be able to continue trading as a going concern. – Nampa/ReutersAB InBev explores packaging optionsAnheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer, is exploring options for its packaging activities as it streamlines its portfolio and focuses on its core beverage business, sources close to the matter said.The company is working with Deutsche Bank on a deal for its US-based canning activities which AB InBev inherited when it bought Anheuser Busch in 2008, the people said.Deutsche Bank has been hired to explore a sale of a minority stake or a joint venture for AB InBev's North American bottling and canning activities which could be worth US$5-6 billion, one of the people said, adding that it was not aiming for an outright sale.The US$52 billion Anheuser-Busch InBev merger in 2015 spurred a series of divestments, notably of non-beer activities, such as its theme parks. St Louis-based Metal Container Corp was mooted as a possible asset for sale at the time, but instead it was kept.Now, after its US$100 billion plus purchase of nearest rival SABMiller in 2016, AB InBev is again looking to reduce its debt, selling its Australian business and beer brands in Europe and floating part of its Asian operations.Anheuser-Busch InBev and Deutsche Bank declined to comment. – Nampa/ReutersRemy Cointreau H1 core profit fallsSpirits group Remy Cointreau posted a worse-than-expected 4.7% decline in first-half like-for-like current operating profits, as protests in Hong Kong hurt premium cognac sales while promotional spending also dented its earnings.For the 2019/20 full year, the maker of Remy Martin cognac, Cointreau liqueur and Mount Gay rum predicted a stable current operating profit, citing an uncertain geopolitical environment.However, the French company kept its medium term outlook, reiterating its ambition to generate 60-65% of its turnover from spirits sold at US$50 a bottle or more.Group current operating profit for the six months to Sept. 30 reached 138.3 million euro (US$152.43 million).This compared with a company-compiled consensus of 15 analysts which forecast current operating profit of 143.3 million euro. The drop in profit also reflected the impact of heavy investments to promote its brands. – Nampa/ReutersTata Steel locks horns with unionTata Steel Europe said on Wednesday it had begun talks with its workers on a "transformation programme" that involves up to 3 000 job cuts, prompting an angry response from union leaders who said the plan needed to be revised.Indian-owned Tata Steel, which announced restructuring plans on Nov. 18 in a bid to boost profitability, added the further detail on Wednesday that up to 1 600 cuts were expected in the Netherlands, 1,000 in Britain and 350 elsewhere.About two-thirds of job losses are expected to be management and office-based roles, it said.The restructuring follows a decision by competition regulators in June to block a joint venture with Germany's Thyssenkrupp.Unions in Britain and the Netherlands said that after that deal collapsed, they were given a jobs guarantee until 2021, and they would expect the company to stick to that. – Nampa/Reuters

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