Hits&Misses
Sea Harvest reels in R965m deal; poor chemicals sales bleach Sasol’s interim sales
FISHING group Sea Harvest will buy Terrasan’s pelagic business and part of its abalone operations for R965m in a deal that will be settled in new shares and cash. The transaction will enable Sea Harvest to add value and scale to its small sardine and anchovy catch allocation. Established in 1963, Terrasan invests in pelagic, or deep-sea, fishing and abalone farming in the Western Cape and employs more than 600 people.
ICT group Datatec has acquired London-based Rebura in a deal that aims to augment its cloud-based solutions. Founded in 2017, Rebura specialises in supporting Amazon Web Services cloud migrations across the UK, the Nordic countries and central Europe, among other services.
CONSUMER goods group AVI expects first-half profit to rise by as much as 18% despite sector-wide challenges, including load-shedding and other costs. The owner of footwear retailer Spitz, Five Roses tea, and seafood company I&J said this week its consolidated headline earnings per share would rise to R3.70R3.76 in the six months to December from R3.19 a year earlier.
SASOL reported a big drop in revenue from its chemicals business as a result of a slowdown in the key Chinese market and economic headwinds in Europe. Combined sales volumes of chemicals at its operations in Africa, the US and Europe rose 4% in the six months to end-December, though revenue was down 21% as the average basket price for its products fell 24% from the same period a year earlier.
APPLE’S smartphone shipments in China shrank 2.1% year on year in the final quarter of 2023 as it faced intensifying competition from local rivals led by Huawei, data from research firm IDC showed. The drop underscores the challenges facing the US giant in its third-biggest market, where some Chinese companies and government agencies limit employees’ use of Apple devices — a measure that mirrors US government restrictions on Chinese apps on security grounds.
ERICSSON said it expected a further decline in demand for 5G equipment from mobile operators this year, including in key growth market India. Telecom equipment suppliers are expecting a challenging 2024 as sales of 5G gear — a key source of revenue — are slowing in North America, while India is also set for a decline.
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