LOOSE TALK

Good times are back for construction cheats

AG SHAME, those poor construction companies. Hardly able to make a buck (well, an honest buck anyway), they were forced into dark corners to rig tenders.

Except, of course, the truth is they did make a pretty penny during the good times, so much so that Murray & Roberts former CEO Brian Bruce took home R173-million over the five years before he left.

But dire predictions of gloom were spun to the press at the same time as these companies were being assessed for fines for breaking competition rules.

Well, it turns out we needn’t weep for the hard-hat top brass. This week, Basil Read said headline earnings for the six months to June would climb 190%-200%, while Group Five’s operating profit for the six months rose 68% to R556million. Now at least they’ll have money for those ethics classes they missed.

Lonmin’s and Amcu’s wishful thinking

“THIS is a non-story,” Lonmin’s investor relations guy said earnestly this week, when Business Times asked if the company didn’t think a majority agreement with Amcu that cuts off all other unions would fuel further tension at the mine.

Signing the agreement was meant to be symbolic — in remembrance of Marikana — but it made the blood of other unions boil. This after Lonmin promised it would opt for a multiunion agreement.

But for some reason everyone at the press conference — granted, it was only Lonmin, Amcu and the media — seemed overjoyed. This giddy joy is sure to be short-lived, as other unions made it clear that they plan to take Lonmin to court. Nor would the company be safe from strikes.

A victory for the embattled platinum miner, maybe — but not a sustainable one.