Plenty of work for PPC’s Gordhan

KETSO Gordhan’s bombshell decision to step down as CEO of cement group PPC is a (one hopes temporary) loss for corporate SA. The long-term effects of his unorthodox style, of committing much of his time to improving the lives of his employees, may never be known if his successor does not follow through.

In a country where the trust deficit between management and workers is so large, Mr Gordhan grabbed a lot of attention with his housing initiatives, pay-gap reduction and efforts to help the government streamline its infrastructure roll-out process.

Employees were always going to welcome a salary rise, even if it had not coincided with an executive pay freeze, but the long-term effect once the novelty of the gesture had worn off was yet to be seen. We hope Mr Gordhan will find another post in the private sector. If he really wants to shake things up he should consider a job in mining, where pay gaps yawn wide and management-employee trust seems nonexistent.

Meanwhile, PPC is not a rudderless ship. “The management structures are strong at PPC. Pepe Meijer is still in charge of the international expansion, whilst joint CEOs of the local business, Johan Claassen and Richard Tomes, have oodles of experience between them. If you add up all the time those three individuals have spent at the business, it is around 65 years, or the normal retirement age of an individual,” Vestact analysts said.

THE last two “down” days on the JSE have suppressed speculation on last week’s cautionary notice released by investment company Brait, although a few mischievous whispers have reached our ears.

They relate to permutations for vending its investment in recently listed micro-lending business Southern View Finance into Transaction Capital, Tradehold (which owns financial services interests via Rewards and Mettle) or revamped investment company ConvergeNet.

That would be an intriguing exercise, with the latter two having Brait shareholder Christo Wiese as the major investor. But neither Transcap nor ConvergeNet is under cautionary, and Tradehold’s further cautionary refers to property transactions in Africa. It is doubtful there is any pending corporate action at retail conglomerate Pepkor, which is Brait’s biggest investment. But a large deal may be under consideration at consumer brands business Premier Group, which has shown a penchant for acquisitions of late.

But the most likely scenario would involve Brait’s investment in UK specialist grocery chain Iceland Foods, whose shares are at a record low on an earnings decline. The going has been tough in UK retail, but we don’t think Brait will coldshoulder an opportunity to increase its stake in Iceland — whether by buying out an existing shareholder or paying for extra funding.