Tongaat Hulett chair resigns

Embattled sugar producer Tongaat Hulett has announced the resignation of its chair Louis von Zeuner. The company said on Thursday that he advised the board he was not available for re-election at the next annual general meeting “due to a change in his personal circumstances”.

“Mr Von Zeuner has consequently resigned as chairman but will remain on the board to assist with a smooth transition and handover until 30 June 2022.”

He will resign as an independent non-executive director of the company after that.

David Noko, a lead independent non-executive director, was appointed as interim chair until a replacement is found.

“On behalf of the board and executive team of Tongaat Hulett, we wish to sincerely thank Mr von Zeuner for his exceptional leadership, guidance and support during the difficult time that [ Tongaat Hulett] faced when he took over the role as chairman,"said CEO Gavin Hudson.

In an operational update last month, Tongaat Hulett says its South Africa operations are likely to report a loss after production declined to 463 000 tons from 535 000 tons in the previous year.

The group, which is battling a R6.8 billion debt burden (from R5,8 billion in 2021), is undergoing a restructuring process and has previously said that it would embark on a R4 billion rights offer to be underwritten by Mauritius-based Magister Investments.

However it announced last month that the rights offer will now increase to between R4 billion and R5 billion due to its current challenges.

Former high-profile Tongaat Hulett executives, including former CEO Peter Staude and ex- CFO Murray Munro, have been criminally charged in an alleged R3.5-billion fraud scam relating to sales of land owned by Tongaat Hulett. Last month, Fin24 reported that they may also face charges of racketeering.

It is alleged that they overstated the value of the deals in Tongaat’s financial records, and misrepresented that proper accounting procedures had been followed in determining the revenue on the deals. Some were backdated to previous financial records thereby artificially manipulating the financial reporting periods.

The matter has been postponed until 2 June this year.—news24.com