Company news in brief

SAA severance deal deadline extendedSouth Africa's government and specialists appointed to try to save the state-owned airline have agreed to extend a deadline for trade unions to agree staff severance terms, a letter from the public enterprises department showed yesterday.South African Airways (SAA) entered a form of bankruptcy protection in December and its fortunes deteriorated further when the coronavirus pandemic forced it to suspend all commercial flights.The airline offered severance packages to its roughly 5 000-strong workforce after the government said it would not provide more funds for rescue efforts."We advise that the department agreed with Business Rescue Practitioners on a moratorium on the signing of the retrenchment (layoffs) agreements until Friday 1 May 2020," said the letter signed by public enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, which was addressed to unions at the airline."As a result, the employees are not obliged to sign the collective agreement for the retrenchments for the period of the moratorium," the letter added. – Nampa/ReutersDis-Chem rejects claim it hiked pricesSouth African drug store chain Dis-Chem said on Friday it will oppose a referral to the Competition Tribunal after an investigation found it had inflated prices of dust and surgical masks during the coronavirus outbreak.On Thursday, the Competition Commission, which investigates competition complaints and refers them to the tribunal for prosecution, said it had found that Dis-Chem hiked the prices of those masks by as much as 261% during the State of National Disaster in early March.In an emailed response, Dis-Chem said it was consulting its legal team and economic experts and would oppose the complaint referral.Dis-Chem said its pricing was within regulated guidelines and it did not engage in price-gouging or excessive price-fixing.The Commission has asked the tribunal to impose a maximum penalty against Dis-Chem. – Nampa/ReutersGold Fields eyes full output at SA mine Gold Fields hopes to reach full production at its only gold mine in South Africa by the end of May, its chief executive said on Thursday, as it forecast limited impact to its global output from the coronavirus pandemic.Gold Fields operates the South Deep mine near Johannesburg and brought it to profitable production last year after making losses for many years due to challenging geology 3 km below the surface.The company had to shut the mine after president Cyril Ramaphosa declared a five-week lockdown in Africa's most industrialised country from the end of March to contain the spread of the pandemic. The government has since said mines can operate at up to half capacity.The company expects to reach 100% production in 5-6 weeks, assuming the government allows a ramp up of mines beyond 50%.It expects to lose 32 000 ounces of production at the mine, according to current estimates. – Nampa/ReutersAmplats targets R4 bn in savingsSouth Africa's Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) aims to save about R4 billion this year through cost cuts and reduced capital expenditure to offset production losses during a nationwide lockdown to fight the coronavirus.The company has suffered a 7% drop in first-quarter output of platinum group metals (PGM) to 954 800 ounces, with 61 000 PGM ounces lost at its South African operations alone, hit by a coronavirus lockdown that started on March 27 and has been extended until May.Amplats said it will seek capital expenditure reductions that support the updated production profile while ensuring long-term asset integrity. It will make further savings from cost cuts and reductions overtime payments and production bonuses for employees not at work.Another member of the Anglo American group, Kumba Iron Ore, said it is also targeting cost savings, aiming for a total of R325 million, and would defer non-critical capital expenditure of R1 billion to bolster its financial position.It now expects 2020 output to be between 37 million and 39 million tonnes, against previous guidance of 41.5 million to 42.5 million tonnes. – Nampa/ReutersSonangol begins selling assets in firmsAngolan state oil company Sonangol said on Friday it has opened a public tender to sell its stakes in some private firms as part of a government bid to privatise key state assets including parts of Sonangol itself by 2022.Describing Sonangol as an "octopus," the country's minister of mineral resources and petroleum, Diamantino Azevedo, has said it would need to shed stakes in everything from hotels to aviation around the world before a 30% share sale in 2022.Sonangol is divesting 30% of its capital in oil and gas contractor Petromar, Sonadiets Ltd and Sonadiets Services SA, 51% in Sonatide Marine Ltd and Sonatide Marine Angola Ltd and 40% in Sonamet Industrial SA and Sonacergy Services and Construction Petroleum Ltd, it said in a statement.The Angolan state will exit full or part ownership of 81 companies this year via public tender, including six by auction and three in IPOs, with 12 set to be privatized in 2021 and four in 2022, according to state news agency Angop.Among the last will be Sonangol, along with state-owned diamond company Endiama. – Nampa/Reuters

Company news in brief

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