Earnings tick up, wage hopes soar
HUDACO Industries reported a 2% rise in headline earnings a share to 448c for the six months to May in “an uncertain and difficult” mining environment. An interim dividend of 155c a share was declared. SPECIALISED chemical products and services company Omnia Holdings reported a rise in diluted headline earnings a share to 1 249c for the year ended March‚ from 957.3c a year ago. Profit for the year was up 40%. THE Reserve Bank’s monthly leading business cycle indicator inched up 0.2% in April from March, mainly owing to an increase in job advertisements and the number of residential building plans passed. SOUTH Africa’s new measure of headline producer inflation braked more than expected to 4.9% year on year in May from 5.4% in April, Stats SA said. Economists polled by Reuters had expected it to slow to 5.2% year on year. SHARES of Cipla Medpro gained nearly 3% after it announced on Wednesday that it was likely to meet all regulatory conditions related to a $488-million takeover bid by India’s Cipla by the June 28 target. GROWTH in credit demand by the private sector slowed to 9.05% year on year in May from 9.13% in April, Reserve Bank data showed on Friday. Expansion in the M3 measure of money supply also braked. THE Competition Commission fined 15 construction companies, including Murray & Roberts, Aveng and Wilson Bayly Holmes Ovcon, a combined R1.46-billion to settle a longstanding probe into price-fixing. OFFSHORE accounts sold a net R6.3-billion of South African bonds and a net R608-million worth of JSE-listed stocks in the week ending June 21, according to data from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. THE Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) wants gold producers to more than double the wages of entry-level miners, according to a document submitted to the companies. EASTERN Platinum informed shareholders that it was placing its Crocodile River mine on care and maintenance. It said 92% of the mine’s employees would be retrenched or have their jobs terminated by mutual agreement.