‘We’ll contain the virus’ but fiscal gloom spreads unchecked

SA was on high alert for the new coronavirus that emerged in China in early January, and could detect and contain any cases that might be imported into the country, health minister Zweli Mkhize said. The coronavirus has hammered international markets amid fears it will disrupt global trade and travel, and has seen several airlines suspend or cut the number of their flights to China in the face of falling demand.

TAILINGS retreatment specialist DRDGold, whose share price more than doubled in 2019, reported a 69% surge in revenue in the half-year to end-December, mostly due to the effect of a full period of production from a new project.

FLEET management and vehicle-tracking company MiX Telematics said it had added 23,200 more subscribers in the third quarter to end December, putting it on track for double-digit subscription revenue growth for its full year.

WALMART-owned

Massmart warned it had swung into a loss in the year to end-December as SA’s consumers cut back on higher-margin durable goods. The group’s net loss, including the effect of accounting standards that bring leases onto the balance sheet, could be as much as R1.385bn.

CELL C, which recently rejected a takeover bid from Telkom, defaulted on almost R3bn of debt, sending the share price of its largest shareholder, Blue Label Telecoms, plunging more than 13%. The failure to pay interest on its $184m (R2.74bn) bond, as well as loans and interest to lenders, will likely pile pressure on the board to speed up efforts to shore up its finances and improve its liquidity.

LIQUIDATION figures released by Stats SA show that the number of businesses that had to wind up their operations in 2019 rose 10.7% from the year before. This is the first increase seen in a decade since the global financial crisis, when liquidations hit 25.2%.