COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF
SAA in talks with British AirwaysSouth African Airways is talking to British Airways (BA) about the possibility of taking over its franchise agreement in South Africa, John Lamola, SAA's interim chair and CEO, confirmed on Friday.
BA cancelled the franchise agreement it had with Comair after the SA company went into provisional liquidation in mid-June.
Recently, Comair's provisional liquidator, said his understanding was that BA was looking for a new partner in the SA market.
BA does not comment on franchise agreements as it involves commercially sensitive information, the company previously told Fin24.
Local aviation experts have speculated that BA would ideally prefer a full-service airline as a franchise partner in SA. Full service usually offers a global loyalty programme, a high flight frequency, and a comprehensive route network.
Comair, which at some point accounted for about 40% of SA's domestic aviation market, operated its own low-cost airline, kulula.com, and domestic and regional British Airways flights as part of the franchise agreement.
Comair was negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and related lockdowns and went into business rescue in May 2020. It was also hamstrung by an attempt to cancel a contract to buy Boeing 737 MAX planes, and rising fuel prices after Russia invaded Ukraine.-Fin24
Sasol partners with Japanese firm
On Friday, Sasol said it was partnering with Japan’s Itochu Corporation to explore the development of green hydrogen and green ammonia projects for shipping fuel and power generation. Sasol, a global chemicals and energy company, is the world’s biggest producer of fuel products and chemicals from coal, but is transitioning away from the fossil fuel as part of its decarbonisation plan.
Green hydrogen, produced from splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, has been touted as a key carbon-free energy source for power generation, shipping fuel and fertiliser manufacturing.
Sasol said green ammonia, produced from green hydrogen, was also a crucial enabler of net-zero fertiliser manufacturing, and could be used as a zero-carbon bunkering fuel in the marine sector and for co-firing in thermal power generation.
“Green ammonia is an excellent energy carrier, especially over long distances, and can be easily transported,” it added. “The product can also be ‘cracked’ back to hydrogen gas for further applications.”
The two signed a memorandum of understanding during the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Tunisia last month. Japanese conglomerate Itochu had been exploring the development of green hydrogen as a fuel in the marine sector and for power generation, Sasol said.
“This marks yet another milestone in our ambition to lead the energy transition in South Africa through decarbonisation, while stimulating industrial development,” said Priscillah Mabelane, Sasol’s executive vice-president for energy.-Fin24
Zimplats injects R4.7bn in expansions plans
Impala Platinum owned Zimplats injected more than US$270 million (R4.67 billion) into expansion projects and paid a dividend amounting to US$205 million (R3.54 billion) for the half year ended in June.
The miner, which according to the Finance Bill 2022 will now have to pay 5% in mineral royalties up from 2.5%, said the capital spend was on capital projects including stay-in-business, replacement and expansion projects.
More is expected to be spent in the years to come, with just one mine, Mupani Mine now forecasting to cost $386.2 million compared with the initial projection of US$264 million.
This is after Zimplats upgraded Mupani Mine from the current design capacity of 2.2 million tons per annum to 3.6 million tons per annum to replace part of the tonnage contribution from Mupfuti Mine on depletion in 2027.
Meanwhile, the construction of a new 38MW furnace and an acid plant has a price tag of $520.6 million.
Currently, the group is exporting part of its metal production in concentrate form as the existing smelter cannot process all the concentrate generated from the concentrators.
In a comment accompanying the results, Zimplats said commissioning of a third concentrator plant which is currently under construction will increase the volume of concentrate produced from 144 000 tons to 163 000 tons per annum. -Fin24
Starbucks names PepsiCo veteran as next CEO
Starbucks named Laxman Narasimhan, a veteran of PepsiCo and other consumer brands, as its next chief executive.
Narasimhan, who was most recently chief executive of Anglo-Dutch multinational Reckitt, will relocate to Seattle from London and join Starbucks on October 1, the company said in a news release.
Following a stretch working with longtime Starbucks CEO and interim boss Howard Schultz, Narasimhan will take over the top spot on April 1, 2023.
The transition comes as Starbucks navigates a burgeoning US unionization push following a difficult stretch for workers during Covid-19.
Starbucks has responded to the drive by boosting investments in worker pay and stores as Schultz has undertaken a "listening tour" to hear out employee concerns.
Narasimhan "is uniquely positioned to shape this work and lead the company forward with his partner-centered approach," Schultz said, calling him "the right leader to take Starbucks into its next chapter."
Starbucks Workers United organizing member Michelle Eisen called on Narasimhan to end the company's "scorched earth union-busting campaign and work with all Starbucks partners to make Starbucks a better company and better place to work."
Neil Saunders, analyst at GlobalData Retail, said the appointment was a "good move" in light of Narasimhan's record in overseas markets and experience in retail operations. -Fin24
MTN cuts dollar debt
Africa's largest mobile operator MTN has announced the early settlement of US$300 million of its dollar-denominated bonds, part of a strategy to cuts its non-rand debt, which has now fallen to 35% of the group total.
In late August, MTN invited eligible holders of its US$750 million eurobond due to mature in November 2024 to tender their notes for purchase by the company for cash.
The offer had attracted tenders of more than US$482 million, higher than the US$250 million maximum set by the mobile operator.
As a result, MTN raised the final acceptance amount to US$300 million, which will be paid on 6 September. The payment will be funded from available cash balances, and will reduce the ratio of non-rand debt from 42% at the end of June.
MTN shares opened at R126.00 before dipping almost 1% R125.40
Wall Street slumped on Friday to close well down, as investors keen for a more modest interest rate path were disappointed by Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell, who said the central bank would keep hiking rates to tame inflation.-Fin24
GM driverless car unit recalls vehicles
General Motors' autonomous vehicle unit Cruise recalled 80 cars and updated their software after one failed to properly predict the trajectory of an oncoming vehicle.
The company, which is the first to have deployed driverless taxis in San Francisco in June, sent a notice this week to the US agency in charge of road safety, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
In filings which came to public attention Thursday, Cruise explains that on June 3 one of its cars was hit from the rear by another vehicle after breaking sharply while making an unprotected left turn.
The self-driving vehicle decided "a hard brake was necessary to avoid a severe front-end collision with an oncoming vehicle," the document said.
Two people were slightly injured, according to a report submitted to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
Police determined that the other vehicle was primarily responsible for the incident as it was not in the correct lane and was traveling over the speed limit.
The NHTSA, however, did not fully exonerate Cruise from liability, stating that the software could, "in certain circumstances when making an unprotected left, cause the automated driving system (ADS) to incorrectly predict another vehicle's path or be insufficiently reactive."
Cruise has modified the software and says were the vehicle to be in the same situation again, it would act differently to avoid error.-Fin24