COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF
Steinhoff shareholders vote to delist from JSESteinhoff's shareholders have voted to dissolve the company and delist it from the Johannesburg and Frankfurt stock exchanges.
Around 99% of shareholders that registered to attend the company's extraordinary general meeting in Amsterdam backed the debt-ridden retailer's proposal to delist on Wednesday.
The meeting was poorly attended, with empty chairs facing four Steinhoff board members. There were few questions before the vote.
The decision to delist was largely a foregone conclusion, given that a Dutch court had already certified Steinhoff's plan to switch from a publicly listed company owned by shareholders to a delisted group under the control of its creditors.
In exchange for delisting and handing over economic control to its creditors, Steinhoff has been granted a three-year debt repayment holiday.
The company leadership has said that had it not made the deal, it would have been forced into a messy liquidation over its €10.2 billion (R200 billion) debt burden. No date has been announced yet for it to stop trading publicly.
Following the delisting, Steinhoff's stock will be converted into a type of equity called contingent value rights (CVRs). The group's creditors will receive 80% of these CVRs. Shareholders will receive the remaining 20%. It's still unclear what the CVRs will be worth, or how they will be traded.-Fin24
Anglo's profit slumps two-thirds
Diversified mining giant Anglo American said its profits fell by almost two-thirds in its half-year to end-June, hit by lower commodity prices as well as pressure in terms of input costs.
Attributable profit fell by 66% to $1.26 billion (about R22 billion) to end-June, the group said, with total group production rising 10%, but with average prices for its basket of products falling 19%.
This prompted a 13% decline in revenue, while the miner cut its dividend 55.6% to US55c, a $700 million (R12.3 billion) payout.
Anglo, valued at about R752 billion on the JSE, has a portfolio spanning copper, manganese, nickel, coal and crop nutrients. It also mines iron ore, including through JSE-listed subsidiary Kumba Iron Ore, as well as platinum group metals (PGMs) through listed Anglo American Platinum (Amplats). It also owns unlisted diamond miner De Beers.
Group production was boosted by a ramp-up of its new Quellaveco copper mine in Peru - helping with a 42% jump in copper output - as well as strong operational performances of its iron ore assets in Brazil and SA. It also benefited from higher production of coal in Australia, but saw production declines for both PGMs and diamonds.
De Beers had been transitioning to underground mining at its Venetia mine in the Northern Cape, while Amplats saw a production fall amid lower grades and planned infrastructure closures. PGM production fell 7%.-Fin24
Amplats names finance director
Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) finance director Craig Miller has been appointed CEO of the mining giant, replacing Natascha Viljoen who will be departing after serving over three years in the role.
Miller will take over the helm of the world's largest platinum producer on 1 October. Viljoen, who has served as Amplats CEO since April 2020, resigned earlier in the year to join US miner Newmont as its chief operating officer. She is currently serving a lengthy notice period.
Miller has been finance director since 2019. He began his career as a trainee accountant at Deloitte in Johannesburg and joined Anglo American in London as a finance manager in May 2000. He eventually worked as group financial controller, was chief financial officer of the iron ore business in Brazil and the coal business in South Africa, and was head of the group CEO’s office.
Miller said he was looking forward to building on Amplat's strategic plans.
"Against the backdrop of macro-economic uncertainties, including high inflation and lower metal prices, we must remain agile, adapting to market realities while focusing on efficiency and prudent resource management," he said.-Fin24
Ex-Steinhoff CEO Jooste loses appeal
Markus Jooste, former chief executive officer of scandal-ridden retailer Steinhoff, lost an appeal against the arrest warrant issued by a German court after he failed to show up for trial in the country.
The Higher Regional Court of Oldenburg rejected his challenge on Monday, a tribunal spokeswoman said by phone. Prosecutors had asked for an arrest warrant when Jooste didn’t show up for his trial in in April.
Bernd Gross, Jooste’s German lawyer, didn’t reply to an email seeking comment.
Gross told the court in April that Jooste was unable to travel because he didn’t have access to his passport, under an arrangement with South African authorities. Jooste is facing much bigger probes and allegations there than in Germany, the lawyer said at the time.
Steinhoff has been battling to stay afloat, more than five years since auditors refused to sign off on its accounts. This prompted Jooste to resign and caused a dramatic share-price collapse as well as criminal and regulatory investigations in both Europe and South Africa.
The judicial authorities in Oldenburg could now seek his extradition from South Africa or ask Interpol for help in the case.-Fin24