COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF
Pick n Pay warns of wider loss, but it's seeing volume improvementsRetail group Pick n Pay warned shareholders on Tuesday that its interim headline loss per share will worsen by at least a fifth. It is, however, seeing some improvement in terms of volumes, with its discount chain Boxer continuing to steal the limelight with comparable sales growth of almost a tenth.
In an operational update for the 21 weeks to 21 July on Monday, Pick n Pay reported that its group sales rose 4.5%, or 3.7% on a like-for-like basis, with Pick n Pay SA sales increasing 0.6% or with comparable sales of 1.7%.
Pick n Pay sales lagged like-for-like sales due to the closure of net 16 supermarkets during the period, ang group SA internal selling price inflation was 4.7%. While a sharp decline from the 7.3% for its 2024 year, its SA supermarkets business, excluding standalone clothing stores, has seen like-for-like sales improve to 2% from a 0.4% in the second half of its 2024 year.
Boxer sales grew 13.5%, or 9.2% like-for-like, with the group saying the chains market leading sales performance was drive by strong like-for-like performance complemented by new store openings. Clothing sales growth in standalone stores was up 10.3%, or 0.7% like-for-like, with the latter figure being impacted by the late arrival of winter weather as well as port delays. Despite these challenges, Pick n Pay Clothing continued to gain market share, the group said.
The retail group is in the midst of a turnaround strategy after plunging into its first-ever loss in its year to end-February, when it reported net debt of just over R6 billion.
-NEWS24-
BHP lays out grand organic growth plans, but acquisitions remain an option
The world's largest miner BHP says it has turned its focus to its own portfolio to pursue attractive growth options in copper and more.
Releasing its results for the year ended in June, BHP said it will now double its copper production from its South Australian operations by mid-2030. There is also a strong pipeline of copper projects in Chile.
"Our portfolio is focused on large, long-life assets in commodities that are set to benefit from the megatrends playing out around us. A growing population, increasingly urbanised, seeking higher standards of living and embarking on the energy transition," BHP CEO Mike Henry told investors during a results presentation on Tuesday.
BHP is already the largest holder of copper resources in the world, with some 44 billion tonnes of this resource. It is the lowest-cost producer and also one of the largest producers, producing over 1.8 million tonnes of copper per year, having grown its output by 300 000 tonnes over the past two years.
BHP increased capital investment in copper and potash by $1.5 billion (R27 billion) in the past financial year and now expects that 65% of its medium-term capital will be allocated to these future-facing commodities, the demand outlook for which is "particularly durable", Henry said. But it continues to keep an eye out for attractive buying opportunities too.
-NEWS24-
Starlink's SA users are finally running out of road
Elon Musk's Starlink is terminating the packages of users who had been accessing the company's high-speed-internet services illegally, including in South Africa.
Many people who had been using Starlink in South Africa took to local Starlink Facebook groups over the weekend, complaining that their services had been terminated.
This after SpaceX, which owns Starlink, sent emails to customers accessing services in countries where the satellite internet provider didn't have regulatory approval earlier this month. The company said their services would be off after 21 August.
SpaceX issued a similar threat in April this year but seemingly didn't follow through with it.
Now though, it seems like the jig is up for people in South Africa who have been sidestepping the law to access Starlink services in the country.
Through its fleet of low-earth orbit satellites, Starlink can provide high-speed internet access to almost any part of the world. This is particularly useful in rural settings with a low population density as these areas have historically been particularly difficult to connect profitably.
Starlink has not applied for a licence to operate in South Africa, with ownership equity requirements in the Electronic Communication Act thought to be the biggest stumbling block. The act requires holders of communications licences to be 30%-owned by historically disadvantaged groups.
-NEWS24-
Stadio jumps 7% as it hits 50 000 students
Private higher education group Stadio jumped 7% on Monday after it reported it has hit the 50 000-student mark as of August. The group has now seen compound annual growth in students of 10% for six consecutive years and is on track to meet a target of 56 000 students it set when as it joined the JSE in 2017.
The group, which was spun out of JSE-listed Curro, reported that revenue rose 16% to R826 million to end June as student numbers rose 10% to just over 47 000, since rising further.
Headline earnings rose 19% to about R137 million and cash generated from operations grew 20% to R307 million, with Stadio reporting a strong demand for its professional qualifications, while it has taken a hard look at its debtor book and its collections.
CEO Chris Vorster told News24 it had been an "exciting six months" for the group, which is particularly pleased with a 9% pickup in contact-learning, something that has been under pressure since Covid-19.
"And we've managed now to turn it around. If we look at new first-year students joining there on the Centurion campus [in Gauteng], those numbers are up 50%. And very similar in our smaller Bellville campus here in the Western Cape. Those student numbers also look very, very encouraging for the first six months," he said.
Valued at about R5 billion on the JSE, Stadio currently offers 96 qualifications and operates 10 contact-learning campuses across SA. It has three registered private Higher Education Institutions - Stadio Higher Education, Milpark Education and AFDA and offering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
-NEWS24-