Company news in brief

Clicks eyes more market sharePharmaceutical retailer Clicks plans to continue investing heavily in its private label products offering, looking to lure customers of every income level that are increasingly on the hunt for value in a battling economy.The JSE-listed retailer’s strategy to expand its private label reach in popular categories like baby and cleaning products was also paying off, with Clicks reporting that private label sales had soared more than 15% in the year to end August. One in four products sold are under its house brand, and the group has been gaining market share.The company reported that adjusted headline earnings grew about 11% to R2.5 billion amid a 12.2% increase in retail sales, which includes its Clicks stores, supplement business GNC, The Body Shop and Sorbet.It said its share of the retail pharmacy market had increased from 23.6% to 24%, while it’s planning as many as 50 new stores and pharmacies in 2024. The group currently has 850, as well as a long-term target of expanding to 1 200 stores.Clicks said the strong growth in private label sales and the sustained recovery in the beauty category were supported by the Clicks ClubCard loyalty programme, which had grown to 10.4 million active members.While the economic outlook appeared gloomy, challenging environments favoured companies such as Clicks, which had defensive business models, the group said. – Fin24MTN reviewing tax demandAfrica’s largest wireless carrier said it’s reviewing a demand by a Nigerian tribunal for unpaid taxes. The Lagos-based Tax Appeal Tribunal ordered MTN to pay $72.6 million (R1.3 billion), according to documents seen by Bloomberg and verified by two government officials. Calls to the tribunal weren’t answered when Bloomberg sought comment.Nigeria is Johannesburg-based MTN’s biggest market by subscribers and the Lagos-listed unit MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd. contributes more than a third of the group’s total revenue.Africa’s biggest mobile operators are increasingly being caught up in tax disputes on the continent. MTN has a history of impasses in Nigeria and was victorious in a conflict in the West African nation in 2020, when the government dropped a US$2 billion claim for back taxes after a 16-month battle. More recently, Ghana had to abandon a US$773 million back-tax bill against MTN that the company disputed. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, its cross-town rival Vodacom Group Ltd. has been embroiled in a tax demand that led the government to seal parts of its offices and freeze its bank accounts.Recently, six telecoms chief executives — including MTN’s Ralph Mupita and Vodacom’s Shameel Joosub — urged African leaders and policymakers to "rationalise" tax for the mobile industry through the development of targeted fiscal policy reforms, such as the removal of tax on low-cost smart-phones and sector-specific tax, according to an agreement signed in Rwanda. – Fin24/Bloomberg

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