Fewer liquidations, but bad debts rise

TELKOM SA said fullyear headline earnings likely rose more than ninefold, following a raft of belt-tightening initiatives and a hefty write-down last year, to 772c-789c a share from a restated 86.2c a share a year earlier. APPAREL retailer Mr Price Group broadly met forecasts with a 22% rise in full-year profit as cash-strapped shoppers flocked to its no-frills stores. Diluted headline earnings totalled 715.1c a share. THE number of liquidations decreased by 37.9% year on year in April and the number of insolvencies decreased by 4.7% in March compared with the yearearlier period‚ Stats SA data showed. PACKAGING firm Nampak reported a 10% rise in first-half profit, helped by rising demand in African countries beyond its home market. Headline earnings totalled 114.3c a share from 103.6c a year earlier. THE retail price of petrol will drop by 22c or 1.5% a litre from Wednesday, while wholesale diesel will fall by 1.8%, the Department of Energy said. Petrol will cost R14.02 a litre and diesel R12.76 in Gauteng. SOUTH Africa’s economy shrank 0.6% quarter on quarter in the first three months of this year as a decline in output from the platinum mining sector sparked the first overall quarterly contraction since 2009, said Stats SA. THE Reserve Bank’s monthly leading business cycle indicator decreased by 0.5% on a month-on-month basis in March, led by a drop in the number of jobs being advertised and residential building plans passed. STANDARD Bank Group, Africa’s largest lender, said bad debts had ticked higher in the first four months of this year, the latest sign that South African borrowers remain under pressure from a weak economy. HEADLINE producer inflation accelerated more than expected to 8.8% year on year in April from 8.2% in March, Stats SA said. On a month-on-month basis, factory gate prices rose by 1% in April from 1.3% in March. GROWTH in private sector credit extension amounted to 8.27% year on year in April from an 8.73% increase in March‚ Reserve Bank data showed. The data is a key gauge of consumption expenditure levels.