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IDC plan to boost industrial expansio... Pepsico to leg-up its SA chil... Gold and forex reserves ris... Job losses loom in ailing gold industr... Ikageng's hopes for share plan run hig... Hungry market can expect a listings feas... Warnings on profit show new sensitivity... Vested interests resist reform in medici... Regulators home in on Telkom's Internet ... Bloated public service pushes Manuel ove... SA wind-up radio turns General Electri... Building up skills base the ke... Tender award: court orders reasons to be... How AIDS will hurt SA where it matters m... Bethlehem made valuable contributio... |
COMPANY DIGESTAFROX Afrox subsidiary Afrox Healthcare has bought three hospitals for an undisclosed sum, strengthening its position in the private health-care market. They are the Vincent Pallotti Hospital in Cape Town, the Springsmed hospital in Springs, Gauteng and the James Hospital in East London. Meanwhile, Afrox announced flat half year earnings at 33.1c (31.4c) a share earlier this week. Extremely slow trading conditions in the last quarter of 1996 affected its performance in the six months to March. Attributable income rose to R92.6-million (R84.7-million). Inflation-adjusted earnings were 7% up at 30.3c a share while the dividend was 12% higher at 13c a share. Trading conditions are expected to remain difficult in the second half of the year. CVRD MINE A Brazilian high court justice said he could decide tomorrow whether the government's planned sell-off of state mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce can move forward. The auction of CVRD, originally planned for last Tuesday, has been delayed by a number of legal challenges in courts throughout Brazil. With the sale of a maximum 45% voting stake in CVRD, the government hopes to net at least $2.8-billion. But bidders are expected to pay a premium for the company and analysts say the sale could bring in up to $5-billion. The auction is expected to be Latin America's biggest privatisation to date. OPUS INVESTMENTS Gambling group Opus Investments has announced a deal which will see black empowerment groups, including Moribo Investments, becoming its controlling shareholders. The new shareholders will enable Opus to take advantage of opportunities in provincial and video gaming and the national lottery.
KANGOL GROUP Former Springbok skydiver Philip Pass has completed a £30-million (R220-million) management buy-out of the headwear and branded clothing and accessories company, Kangol Group. The deal was backed by UK financial services group Kleinwort Benson Development Capital and by NatWest Markets. The buy-out team is led by Pass, the managing director. Kangol, founded in 1938, has operations in South Africa, the US and the UK and has recently completed the construction of a factory in China. KYNOCHEM Kynochem, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AECI Group company Kynoch, has acquired a 100% stake in Aluminium Chemicals, the largest producer of aluminium sulphate in southern Africa, from Zincor and Ecca Minerals for R16-million. Ecca, AECI and Zincor have jointly operated Aluminium Chemicals since 1978. Ecca and Zincor will remain as suppliers of raw materials. Aluminium sulphate is widely used in water purification. SEA HARVEST Good summer hake catches and the benefit of a weaker rand in export markets enabled Sea Harvest to post 21% higher headline earnings to 26.4c a share in the six months to March. The company does not expect to match this growth for the full year but predicts a satisfactory rise in earnings. The interim dividend is 11% up at 10c a share. CAPITOL CATERERS Two major trade unions - the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa - have acquired a 60% stake in Capitol Caterers, a Pietermaritzburg-based company operating in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. Funded by New Republic Bank, the deal will allow Capitol to expand nationally and particularly into the Gauteng market. The value of the deal has not been disclosed. FINTECH Information technology group Fintech lifted headline earnings 26% to 564.7c a share in the year to end-February. Attributable income rose to R76-million from a restated R53.7-million in 1996. The dividend was 23% higher at 185c a share. OCEANA FISHING Pilchards and non-quota fish like Red Eye saved the day for Oceana Fishing Group in the six months to March following the disappearance of anchovy off the SA coast in the past year. The group reported a 19% rise in headline earnings to 29.3c a share and declared an interim dividend of 7c (6.1c) a share. METROPOLITAN LIFE Metropolitan Life has established a new fund designed to invest in infrastructure development, capacity building and job creation. Called Futurebuilder, the fund has an actively managed portfolio with a market value of more than R300-million. It will be similar to a unit trust in that institutions can participate in the fund by buying units at the prevailing market price. DAEWOO ELECTRONICS Rupert Pardoe has been appointed chairman of Daewoo Electronics SA, replacing Mike Sander who retired at the end of March for health reasons. Pardoe is financial director of Amic and sits on various Anglo and Amic company boards. GROWTHPOINT Property loan stock company Growthpoint Properties grew its net income before debenture interest and tax by 11.1% to R20.4-million in the year to March. Combined income per unit for the year grew at the same rate to 60c. ý Sources: BT, Sapa, Reuters Top of page
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