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South Africa’s Vodacom lifts H1 profit on data boom

9 November 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African mobile phone operator Vodacom on Monday reported a 6 percent rise in half-year profit, buoyed by sharp growth in data revenue.

The South African unit of Britain’s Vodafone has spent billions to expand its network in recent years with a strong focus on providing faster internet to its customers as more of them get smartphones.

“We’re becoming more of a big data provider, an internet provider if you like,” Vodacom Group Chief Executive Shameel Joosub said in a conference call with reporters.

The company said headline earnings per share – the main profit measure in South Africa and strips out certain one-off items – rose to 440 cents from 415 cents, in the six months ended Sept. 30.

Data revenue was up 33.5 percent as Vodacom increased 4G coverage in its home market, the company said.

“In South Africa, LTE/4G coverage increased from 32.2 percent to 46.8 percent,” said Joosub.

Customers that have access to 4G have increased to nearly 2 million in Africa’s most advanced economy and they use almost three times more data than those stuck with lower speeds, Joosub said in a statement released with the results.

The company is forming partnerships with content providers to get its customers to consume more videos and music on smart devices as it tries to rake in more data revenue.

“We need to play more in the content space,” Joosub said.

Vodacom’s smartphone users consume around 425 MB of data per month, compared to 2 GB in the U.S. and Britain which Joosub sees as an opportunity for growth.

Shares in Vodacom were up 1.5 percent to 150.73 rand by 0755 GMT.

 

(Reporting by TJ Strydom; Editing by James Macharia, Reuters)

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ArcelorMittal SA plans $323 mil rights issue, plus possible bond

8 November 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – ArcelorMittal’s South African business plans to raise up to $323 million through a rights issue and is considering a $350 million bond issue, it said on Friday, as it battles falling steel demand, rising cheap imports and higher costs.

Steel companies around the world are grappling with a global supply glut that has sent producers’ share prices to their lowest levels in more than a decade and prompted the ArcelorMittal parent company to cut its full-year profit guidance on Friday.

ArcelorMittal SA, Africa’s biggest steelmaker, plans to raise between 4 billion rand and 4.5 billion rand ($322.77 million) from new shares that could dilute the current shareholding by 30 percent, it said after flagging an annual loss expected to be 11 times bigger than last year’s 277 million rand.

The cash call, at least 14 percent bigger than the company’s market capitalisation, is fully underwritten by the parent company.

The South African business is also considering issuing up to $350 million of bonds, finance chief Dean Subrimanian told Reuters.

“The bond would be subject to how much we raise on the rights issue,” he said.

The company said it would use the money to pay off debt, which stands at 3.2 billion rand, with the balance used for operational and capital expenditure.

Shares in ArcelorMittal SA fell as much as 12.6 percent to their lowest level in 14 years on Friday. By 1125 GMT, the stock had recouped some of the losses to trade 6 percent lower at 7.36 rand.

 

JOB CUTS

To cope with weak demand and rising costs, the company has said it would close parts of its Vereeniging Works plant and cut about 283 jobs as part of a review of its operations.

Along with industry rivals, ArcelorMittal SA has also asked the South African government to introduce import and anti-dumping tariffs to help them compete against cheap steel coming mainly from China.

“If we go, the industry goes.” Chief Executive Paul O’Flaherty told reporters on Friday.

ArcelorMittal SA reported 16 percent higher output in the quarter to Sept. 30, but sales to China fell 20 percent.

“Market conditions are expected to remain tough and all our units are expected to maintain their current below-capacity production levels,” it said

Separarely, the company and its raw material supplier Kumba Iron Ore have amended their supply agreement, under which ArcelorMittal SA paid costs plus 20 percent for iron ore.

Under the new deal, ArcelorMittal SA would pay an export parity price, or the price Kumba can expect to get if its product is exported, that would be discounted by as much as 7.5 percent depending on the market price of iron ore.

“This pricing amendment is commercially acceptable and sustainable for both parties,” Kumba Chief Executive Norman Mbazima said in a statement.

 

(Editing by Tiisetso Motsoeneng and David Goodman. By Zandi Shabalala. Reuters)

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South Africa’s rand falls to record low on strong U.S. jobs data

7 November 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand weakened sharply to a record low against the dollar after firmer-than-expected non-farm payrolls data from the United States on Friday.

By 1413 GMT the rand had slipped 2.0 percent to 14.1700, its weakest level ever against the greenback as the growing likelihood of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve in December pressured emerging assets.

“The move is dollar bound, because of the non-farm payrolls. It means they (U.S. Fed) can start lifting interest rates and that is obviously bad for the rand,” NKC African Economics chief economist Christie Viljoen said.

The local unit ignored central bank data showing domestic net gold and foreign exchange reserves edged up slightly to $41.308 billion in October but succumbed to dollar strength following the positive jobs data.

The dollar rose to a 6-1/2 month high after the U.S. jobs report beat expectations, increasing 271,000 last month to its largest rise since December 2014.

Stocks also fell, with the blue-chip index down 2.5 percent to 47,332 points following the U.S employment figures.

 

(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by James Macharia, Reuters)

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Botswana’s August trade balance slips to $159 mil deficit y/y

6 November 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

GABORONE (Reuters) – Botswana’s trade balance swung to a 1.7 billion pula ($159 million) deficit in August from a 1.82 billion pula surplus in the same period last year due to a sharp fall in diamond exports, the statistics agency said on Friday.

On a month-on-month basis, the trade balance recorded a 1.7 billion deficit in August compared with a 486 million pula in July.

The data shows that while imports remained relatively flat, the August month-on-month deficit was driven by a significant 34 percent decline in exports from 4.6 billion pula to 3.03 billion pula.

 

(Writing by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by James Macharia, Reuters)

 

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Mauritius tourist arrivals rise 10.4% in 10 months to Oct

6 November 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) – The number of tourists visiting Mauritius rose 10.4 percent in the 10 months to October from the same period last year, with more arrivals from Asia, figures showed on Friday.

Tourism is an important component of the economy and a key source of hard currency for the Indian Ocean island state, best known for its luxury spas and beaches.

Arrivals increased to 912,770 during the period, the ministry of Tourism said. Numbers from Asia rose 24.1 percent to 166,487, with visitors from China up 42.4 percent.

“Barring any unexpected circumstances, we should attract an additional 100,000 tourists this year,” Xavier-Luc Duval, the minister of Tourism said in a statement.

Last month Duval told Reuters in an interview that a major focus was boosting numbers during the island’s winter season, running from June to September, by drawing more visitors from India, China, Africa and Russia.

The number of tourists visiting from Europe, which accounts for two-thirds, rose by 9.9 percent to 487,487.

Despite the rising numbers, central bank figures suggested tourist revenues in the first half had fallen by 3.5 percent. The tourism minister said hotels had not seen a revenue fall and the central bank has said it is reviewing its figures.

 

(Reporting by Jean Paul Arouff; editing by Drazen Jorgic and John Stonestreet)

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Tunisian annual inflation rises to 4.6% in October

5 November 2015 Comments (0) Business, Latest Updates from Reuters, Middle East

TUNIS (Reuters) – Inflation rose to 4.6 percent in October after remaining steady for the past three months at 4.2 percent, official figures showed on Thursday.

The food and drink price index rose 5.6 percent in October from a year earlier, the state statistics institute said.

Tunisia’s central bank said last week it had cut its main interest rate to 4.25 percent from 4.75 percent to boost economic growth, as inflation rates fell.

Inflation dropped to 4.4 percent in the first 10 months of this year, compared with 5.5 percent last year.

The bank does not target a particular inflation rate but says the highest that should be tolerated is 5 percent.

 

(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Tom Heneghan, Reuters)

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South Africa’s Harmony Gold narrows quarterly loss, output rises

5 November 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African bullion producer Harmony Gold on Thursday reported a smaller first quarter loss and said it aimed to wipe out its debt over the next two years.

Harmony said headline loss per share for the three months to end-September totalled 120 cents from a loss of 725 cents in the preceding quarter mainly due to benefits from restructuring and optimising efforts resulting in higher production.

The loss was mainly due to 14 percent weakening of the rand against the dollar in the period, the company said.

Gold production rose 10 percent to 281,385 ounces from 256,465 ounces in the previous quarter.

South Africa’s gold industry is being squeezed by falling prices and rising costs such as electricity and labour and companies are slashing costs to stay afloat.

By the end of September, Harmony had cash of 1.5 billion rand ($1078 million) and debt totalling $250 million.

Chief financial officer Frank Abbott told reporters on a conference call that the company intended to repay all its debt over the next two years before spending on its Golpu mine in Papua New Guinea intensified.

“The intention is to repay our debt over the next two years so when the bigger funding starts at Golpu we are sitting with a balance sheet without debt,” he said.

Harmony, which reaps about 90 percent of its gold from South Africa, expects to start a study on the second stage of development of its Golpu mine by December 2015.

Harmony said it expected the gold price to remain flat in the medium term but expected a long term recovery due to gold being used as an investment tool and store of value.

(Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by James Macharia, Reuters)

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Lonmin faces collapse if shareholders reject $400 mln cash call

4 November 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Lonmin, world’s No.3 platinum miner, urged shareholders to approve a $400 million equity cash call at a meeting next week, saying in a document posted on its website the injection was crucial to its survival.

Lonmin’s shares in London fell 6.8 percent to 23.93 pence by 1223 GMT. The Johannesburg-listed stock was down by 8 percent at 5.00 rand.

Battered by strikes, rising costs and weak platinum prices, Lonmin said last month it planned to raise the money and another $370 million in bank loans to refinance debt due in May 2016.

The firm, founded in 1909 as the London and Rhodesian Mining and Land Company, said that if shareholders do not approve the rights issue at a meeting on Nov. 19, lenders would not provide the loans to push back the maturity of the 2016 debt to 2020.

“As a result, the group may have to cease trading at some point between December 2015 and May 2016 and shareholders could lose the entire value of their investment,” the company said on its website.

Lonmin was hit harder than other producers by the platinum mining strike in 2014, South Africa’s longest and costliest, as unlike its peers, virtually all its operations are concentrated in the strike-affected Rustenburg area.

To try to turn around its fortunes, the miner announced a plan in July to close or mothball several mine shafts, putting thousands of jobs at risk. It employs around 38,000 staff, including contractors.

 

SOME SUPPORT

The cash call has the backing of Lonmin’s third-largest shareholder, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which has said it was willing to take up more than it is entitled to. The South African government-owned PIC owns about 7 percent of Lonmin.

The company said the Bapo Community, which owns 2.24 percent of its shares, would also back the rights issue.

Other top four shareholders in the company include South Africa’s Kagiso Asset Management, Capital World Investors and Old Mutual Investment Group.

Lonmin said the new shares would be issued at a “significant discount”, underscoring a more than 80 percent tumble in its stock price over the past year.

“We see this as a particularly stark warning by Lonmin but it is a reminder of the extreme pressures faced in the South African platinum industry,” Investec said in a note.

Spot platinum has fallen by about 20 percent over the last year to levels last seen in 2009 due to oversupply concerns and slowing demand in top consumer China.

 

(Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by Tiisetso Motsoeneng and Louise Heavens, Reuters)

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Zambia lifts benchmark rate to record 15.5% to curb inflation

3 November 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

LUSAKA (Reuters) – Zambia’s central bank raised its benchmark lending rate to a record 15.5 percent on Tuesday to curb soaring inflation which nearly doubled last month as the currency of the African copper producer weakened sharply.

The rate hike, the first since November 2014, also came after a steep fall by Zambia’s kwacha brought on by tumbling copper prices as the consumption in top copper consumer China slowed along with its economy.

The southern African nation had kept the key rate unchanged at 12.5 percent in August, saying it predicted inflation would breach the regulator’s 7 percent target by year end.

“Keeping inflation expectations anchored in single digits is critical,” Central Bank Governor Denny Kalyalya said.

But consumer prices rose to 14.3 percent from 7.7 percent in September, as Zambia’s currency weakened.

The central bank also lifted the cap restricting commercial bank lending rates to a maximum 24.5 percent to allow better functioning of the credit market, Kalyalya said.

The Zambian kwacha firmed 1.36 percent to 12.41 after the rate hike but later traded up 0.56 percent at 12.5000.

“This should allow the kwacha to at least stabilise,” Standard Chartered Bank Africa economist Razia Khan said.

“A more significant reversal of recent losses would require some turnaround in copper prices and much higher interbank rates.”

Economic growth is expected at 4.6 percent in 2015 due to weaker global activity and lower commodity prices as well as a domestic electricity crunch, but would tick up to 5 percent next year, finance minister Alexander Chikwanda said in the 2016 budget speech.

Zambia suffers from severe power shortages. The state utility firm Zesco Ltd has cut the electricity supply to mining firms and doubled prices for other industrial users and household consumers.

Despite these measures, the price of copper, Zambia’s main export, was still low and power outages were expected to continue putting pressure on the kwacha and spiralling inflation, BanABC head of Treasury John Mapiye said.

“We expect yields to rise and that may attract foreign portfolio investment in securities and help strengthen the kwacha temporarily,” Mapiye said.

“The cost of borrowing will increase and ultimately this will filter down to the consumer hence we still expect to see an upward spiral in the rate of inflation.”

 

(By Chris Mfula. Additional Reporting by Nqobile Dludla in Johannesburg; Editing by James Macharia and Raissa Kasolowsky. Reuters)

 

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Siemens could expand Egypt power deal, says CEO

1 November 2015 Comments (0) Business, Latest Updates from Reuters, Middle East

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Siemens could win an expansion of its record 8 billion euro ($8.8 billion) power deal with Egypt, the German industrial group’s chief executive said in a staff newsletter.

Joe Kaeser said Egypt, whose state-run electricity grid is creaking under the weight of fast-growing demand, needed extra capacity before the start of the hot summer months – faster than Siemens could build new turbines under the existing deal.

“We had to come up with a good plan as to how we could help – and this plan pleased the president,” Kaeser said after a trip to Egypt during which he met President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

“We have a handshake on which we can build,” he added in the interview with Siemens Welt seen by Reuters on Friday.

The extra capacity would be 800 megawatts, which would be produced by upgrading existing power stations and putting into place decentralised power-generation units, Kaeser said. He did not say how much the deal could be worth.

The 8 billion-euro deal signed in June was for 16.4 gigawatts and is designed to boost Egypt’s power-generation capacity by 50 percent after going online in 2017.

 

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Mark Potter, Reuters)

 

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