Sasol earnings up, mining down

SASOL posted a 6% rise in first-half earnings after higher sales and chemical prices helped offset the impact of falling oil prices. Headline earnings per share were R32, the middle of the range it had flagged. OFFSHORE investors bought a net R700-million’s worth of South African stocks in the week ended March 6 and close to R400-million in South African bonds, according to data from the JSE. HARMONY Gold said it had discovered gold and copper deposits at its Kili Teke exploration site in Papua New Guinea. There was potential to develop the find into a major deposit similar to its other resources in the country. THE financial situation of African Bank‚ which is now under curatorship‚ has stabilised and its liquidity has improved‚ Treasury chief director for financial stability and markets Roy Havemann told MPs. BANKING group FirstRand reported a 13% rise in first-half earnings, underpinned by growth in advances and deposits. Diluted headline earnings totalled 180.5c from 159.1c a year earlier, it said. MINING production decreased 4.7% year on year in January from a revised year-on-year drop of 3% (2%) in December, Stats SA data showed. The main contributors to the 4.7% fall were gold and platinum group metals. THE National Union of Mineworkers may seek pay hikes of up to 100% for its lowest-paid members in upcoming wage talks in the gold, coal and diamond sectors, general secretary Frans Baleni told reporters. TELKOM’S shares have dropped almost a fifth in a week after the government said it would not sell a stake in the fixed- line operator and MTN Group said it probably would not make an offer. THE Rand Merchant Bank/Bureau for Economic Research business confidence index fell by two points to 49 in the first quarter of this year as loadshedding offset lower oil prices and slowing inflation. MANUFACTURING production contracted 2.3% year on year in January after a revised 0.9% growth in December, data from Stats SA showed. On a month-on-month basis, factory output fell by 1.5%.