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Growthpoint South Africa’s largest listed real estate company had 5.3 per cent increase in its full-year distributable income to the end of June. But the company could find 2020 tougher as their tenants become harder to please. The property company also revealed it has entered into talks with Capital &#038; Regional. Joining CNBC Africa is Growthpoint SA CEO, Estienne de Klerk.

Why Growthpoint may buy this loss making UK company

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) &#8211; Steinhoff will struggle to turn a profit in coming years despite strong turnover as it restructures following an accounting scandal, the South African retailer said in a presentation to investors on Tuesday.



Steinhoff in July reported a 356 million euro ($401 million) half-year loss from continuing operations.



Since flagging holes in its accounts in December 2017, estimates of losses stemming from alleged accounting fraud are now as high $7 billion.



Reporting by Wendell Roelf; writing by Mfuneko Toyana; editing by Jason Neely

Steinhoff says it will struggle to turn a profit in coming years

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South African lender Standard Bank shrugged off the impact of a faltering economy in its home market as its extensive operations across the continent helped the company to a 5% increase in first-half profit.



 Standard Bank has been expanding in some of Africa’s fastest-growing economies even as its domestic operations struggle in the face high personal debt and widespread unemployment in its home market. 



Like rival Nedbank, Standard Bank delivered flat earnings at its South African personal and business banking business. Elsewhere on the continent, Standard Bank &#8211; Africa’s largest lender by assets &#8211; more than doubled earnings in personal and business banking.



“Whilst there may be headwinds in certain markets, the diversity of our businesses and breadth of our footprint provide us with some shelter,” CEO Sim Tshabalala said in a statement.



Headline earnings per share (HEPS) &#8211; the main profit measure in South Africa &#8211; came in at 837.4 cents ($0.5591), against 794 cents in the same period last year. That 5% increase was slightly better than the 3% posted by Nedbank on Wednesday and helped to lift Standard Bank shares by 1.2% in morning trade.



Standard Bank’s pivot back to Africa after its failed foray into global emerging markets has paid off in other ways, too.



The lender said it would exercise an option to dispose of its 20% stake in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s (ICBC) Argentinian operation &#8211; a relic from the abandoned strategy.



It expects to deliver a gain of about 600 million rand as a result of the transaction, adding that it will reinvest any proceeds into its Africa-focused operations, which have produced more stable profit.



However, a separate London-based partnership with ICBC, focused on financial markets and commodities, made a $129.5 million loss in the first half, largely attributable to a provision covering exposure to a single client that filed for bankruptcy.



Standard Bank has previously said the London-based ICBC joint venture would need 1.1 billion rand injected to support its business plan.



($1 = 14.9705 rand)



Reporting by Emma Rumney; Editing by David Goodman

Standard Bank’s expansion in some of Africa’s fastest-growing economies pays off

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MTN has a solid set of results but a weak performance in the South African market has investors spooked. CNBC Africa&#8217;s Kopano Gumbi spoke with MTN Group CFO Ralph Mupita for more.

MTN CFO: Here’s why we are excited about fintech, digital opportunities across Africa

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Paper and plastics group Mpact is reporting a revenue jump of 4.2 per cent to R5.2 billion for their interim period ended June. Underlying earnings per share are also up 25.1 per cent to 39.4 cents. Joining CNBC Africa for more is Bruce Strong, Chief Executive Officer of Mpact.

Mpact CEO: Why China’s recycling policy changes are favourable for SA

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With many of the issues that one is facing with the fast approaching 4th industrial revolution, data is one that many in South Africa can relate too. biNu has created a Data free campaign which is based on the concept of reverse billing and lessens the burden on mobile users accessing websites. biNu CEO, Stephen Newton is, former Head of Google South Africa and has recently entered into a partnership with MTN South Africa for his biNu venture. He joins CNBC Africa for more.

biNu and MTN SA invent reverse billing concept to curb data costs for South Africans

US-China trade war, illegal imports dampen Okomu Oil’s H1 earnings

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s Woolworths Holdings reported on Thursday that it expects earnings to fall as much as 5% this year due to further impairments on its David Jones department store business.



Woolworths, which also has operations in Australia and New Zealand, said that headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the year is expected between 345.9 to 364.1 cents, compared to 364.1 cents in the same period last year.



HEPS is the main profit gauge in South Africa and strips out certain one-off items.



“The impairment reflects the economic headwinds and the accelerating structural changes affecting the Australian retail sector as well as the performance of the business, which has fallen short of expectations,” the company said.



Reporting by Onke Ngcuka, editing by Deepa Babington

Why South Africa’s Woolworths expects earnings to fall as much as 5% in 2019

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Valentine Ozigbo, President and CEO of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria joins CNBC Africa to break down the company&#8217;s half-year numbers.

Severe gas shortages weigh on Transcorp’s H1 earnings

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South African retailer Steinhoff reported a 356 million euros ($401 million) half-year loss from continuing operations on Friday, as the damage from a massive accounting scandal drags on.



Steinhoff first flagged holes in its accounts in December 2017 — the warning shot for an accounting fraud since put at over $7 billion — shocking investors that had backed its transformation from a small South African outfit to a discount furniture retailer spanning four continents.



The owner of Mattress Firm Inc in the United States, Fantastic chains in Australia and Conforama in France said the loss from continuing operations came in at 356 million euros in the six-months ended March compared with a loss of 392 million euros a year earlier.



Steinhoff, which is also listed in Frankfurt, blamed the loss on the cost of advisors and professional fees as it cleans up its balance sheet.



Advisory fees for the period amounted to 82 million euros, which included 11 million euros for forensic investigation and technical accounting support, and 30 million euros for creditor adviser fees.



“While every effort is made to limit costs, we expect this to remain our reality for some time,” the retailer said in its 97-page half-year unaudited report.



Net sales from continuing operations increased by 3% to 6.8 billion euros from 6.6 billion euros, with strong contributions from Pepkor Europe and Pepkor Africa.



At 1105 GMT, shares in Johannesburg-listed Steinhoff jumped 4.72%, while in Frankfurt they were up 8.9%.



($1 = 0.8885 euros)



Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Mark Potter and Louise Heavens

Scandal-hit Steinhoff reports $400 million loss in half-year earnings

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s mobile phone operator Vodacom reported a 6.6% drop in full-year earnings due to one-off costs related to a share scheme offered to black investors.



Headline earnings per share (EPS) for the full-year ended March fell to 862 cents from 923 cents a year earlier.



Headline EPS is the main profit measure in South Africa and strips out certain one-off items.



Vodacom, which is majority owned by Vodafone, concluded a broad-based black economic empowerment (BEE) ownership deal in September, which saw Vodacom issue additional shares.



Under black economic empowerment rules, South African companies are encouraged to meet quotas on black ownership, employment and procurement as part of a drive to reverse decades of exclusion under apartheid.



It also updated its medium-term capital expenditure target to reflect the IFRS 15 accounting standard and also changed its profitability target to operating profit from earnings before interest and taxes to include the benefits of the Kenyan Safaricom acquisition.



Medium-term group capex is now expected to be in the range of 13%-14.5% from 12%-14%, while the operating profit target is expected to be in the mid-high single digit growth rate.



Vodacom, which competes with MTN group and Telkom, said group service revenue jumped 5 percent, led by a strong performance overseas.



“It was a stellar year for our International portfolio where economic and political environments have improved,” group Chief Executive Officer Shameel Joosub said in a statement.



Vodacom grew service revenue there by 15.6 percent and expanded margins, while in South Africa service revenue inched up by 2.1 percent due to price cuts and a stagnant economy.



South Africa has been considering regulating the price of internet data as well as out-of-bundle charges as part of efforts to bring costs down.



Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Louise Heavens

South Africa’s Vodacom reported a 6.6% drop in earnings, here’s why

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/shawn-m-carter/">Shawn M. Carter</a>



Apple&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/01/reuters-america-apple-results-beat-sets-eyes-back-on-1-trillion.html" class="">shares gained almost 5%</a>&nbsp;Wednesday, following the release of its&nbsp;<a href="https://grow.acorns.com/stock-market-outlook-for-may/" class="">earnings report</a>&nbsp;Tuesday, with the company’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=AAPL&amp;amp;qsearchterm=app" class="">current share price</a>hovering around $210.



If you invested in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=AAPL" class="">Apple</a>&nbsp;10 years ago, that decision would have paid off. According to CNBC calculations, a $1,000 investment made on May 1, 2009, would be worth more than $13,000 as of midday May 1, 2019, for a total return of more than 1,200%.



Over the same period, the S&amp;P 500 returned just over 300%.



And, thanks to trade-ins,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/01/apple-slashes-iphone-prices-in-china-by-as-much-as-5percent.html" class="">lower prices on iPhones</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/01/tim-cook-says-the-improved-tone-in-trade-talks-is-boosting-apples-china-business.html" class="">improved trade talks between the United States and China</a>, some analysts seemed optimistic about the company’s stock overall.



“We believe Apple has locked up strong share of the premium tier market and will continue to dominate high-end smartphones sales and capture the vast majority of smartphone profits for the next several years,” according to<a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/01/reuters-america-apple-results-beat-sets-eyes-back-on-1-trillion.html"> financial services firm Canaccord Genuity</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cnbc-apple.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-335595"/><figcaption> CNBC: Apple stock as of May 1, 2019. </figcaption></figure>



Still, while Apple’s stock has ticked up recently and done mostly well over the years,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/30/how-amazon-became-one-of-warren-buffetts-biggest-investment-regrets.html" class="">any individual stock can over- or underperform</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/03/avoid-these-4-investing-mistakes.html" class="">past returns do not predict future results</a>. And even though the company&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/01/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-premarket-boeing-wynn-resorts-cvs-apple-estee-lauder-more.html" class="">reported earnings of $2.46 per share</a>&nbsp;for its most recent quarter, beating estimates by 10 cents a share, it saw its second consecutive overall quarterly revenue decline.



Apple is looking outside of smartphones to increase sales. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/30/apple-earnings-show-company-moving-beyond-iphone.html" class="">underlined two growing businesses</a>&nbsp;during his call with analysts: Apple Services, which includes things like Apple Music and iCloud, and Apple Wearables, which includes AirPods and the Apple Watch.



“It was our best quarter ever for services, with revenue reaching $11.5 billion,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/tim-cook/" class="">Cook</a>&nbsp;said. Services revenue was up 16% from $9.19 billion in sales from a year earlier.



If you’re&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/11/when-the-stock-market-tank-dont-do-these-3-things.html" class="">looking to get into investing</a>, seasoned investors such as Warren Buffett&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/17/warren-buffett-and-tony-robbins-agree-on-the-best-way-to-invest-your-money.html" class="">suggest you start with index funds</a>, which hold every stock in an index, meaning they’re automatically diversified and tend to be low cost. Plus, because they fluctuate with the market, they’re typically less risky than picking individual stocks.



Here’s a <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/markets/">snapshot of how the markets look now</a>.



This article was first published by CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/01/what-a-1000-in-apple-in-2009-would-be-worth-now.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/01/what-a-1000-in-apple-in-2009-would-be-worth-now.html </a>and is republished with its permission.

If you invested $1,000 in Apple in 2009, here’s how much you’d have now

NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya Airways reported a rise in annual revenue on Tuesday while trimming its pretax loss.



The airline, in which Air France-KLM holds a 7.8 percent stake, reported revenue of 114.45 billion shillings ($1.13 billion) for the 12 months to December 31, up from 106.17 billion a year earlier.



The company has changed to a calendar year from a financial year ending March 31.



Its pretax loss narrowed to 7.59 billion shillings from 9.44 billion.



The airline was forced to restructure $2 billion worth of debt in late 2017 after a slump in Kenyan travel following militant attacks.



($1 = 101.3000 Kenyan shillings)



Reporting by Duncan Miriri; editing by Jason Neely

Kenya Airways reports higher annual revenue, what you need to know

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s Gold Fields Ltd said on Thursday its quarterly bullion production increased by 10 percent with a recovery in production at its South Deep mine after a six-week strike.



Gold production for the quarter ended March. 31 rose to 542,000 from 490,000 ounces a year earlier.



“Gold Fields is now well placed to maintain a production profile of approximately 2 million ounces a year at our international operations in Australia, Ghana and the Americas over the medium to long term,” Chief Executive Officer Nick Holland said in a statement.



Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; editing by Jason Neely

South Africa’s Gold Fields production up 10 % in Q1

NAIROBI, April 2 (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya’s biggest telecoms operator Safaricom lost a further percentage point of subscriber market share in the period to the end of December, its fifth straight quarterly fall, data from the sector regulator showed on Tuesday.



The firm, part-owned by South Africa’s Vodacom and Britain’s Vodafone, shed 0.9 percentage points of subscriber market share to 63.3 percent, compared with 71.9 percent in September 2017 when the losing streak started.



Safaricom, which is in a closed period ahead of full year results on May 2, did not comment on the latest figures.



The company began to lose market share after opposition leader Raila Odinga called for consumers to boycott Safaricom, accusing it of playing a role in an August 2017 presidential vote whose outcome he successfully challenged in court.



The losses have been sustained by an aggressive hunt for subscribers by the local unit of India’s Bharti Airtel , which is the second biggest operator in the country.



Airtel Kenya’s subscriber market share jumped to 23.4 percent at the end of December, from 14.9 percent in September 2017.



Airtel said in February it had agreed to merge with number three operator Telkom Kenya, adding to the pressure on Safaricom.



Investors have shrugged off the developments however, with Safaricom’s shares rising 22 percent this year to trade at 28.25 shillings ($0.2804).



According to regulator data in 2015, Safaricom had enjoyed the lion’s share of revenue, with more than 90 percent in key categories such as voice calls. The latest revenue data was not available.



Both Safaricom and Airtel have been increasing their quarterly user numbers but Airtel has reported faster growth in subscribers. ($1 = 100.7500 Kenyan shillings) 



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

What you need to know about Kenya’s Safaricom losing market share for 5th straight quarter

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Troubled South African retailer Steinhoff said on Wednesday it had raised 4.8 billion rand ($332 million) from the sale of its 26 percent stake in KAP Industrial to pay off debt and shore up its finances, sending its shares higher. 



Steinhoff admitted “accounting irregularities” in December 2017, shocking investors who had backed its reinvention from a small South African business to a multinational retailer at the vanguard of the European discount furniture retail industry.



This wiped about 85 percent off its market value and threw the company into a liquidity crisis.



Steinhoff said in a statement it sold 694 million KAP shares at 6.85 rand per share, a 9.4 percent discount to Tuesday’s closing price. The book of demand was oversubscribed, it added.



Steinhoff said on Tuesday the placement would be offered to institutional investors only and will result in the company no longer holding an interest in KAP.



Steinhoff shares jumped in early trade on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and were up more than 6 percent by 0725 GMT.



Shares in KAP, a diversified industrial group selling everything from chemicals and auto components to mattresses, were down more than 7 percent.



In South Africa’s biggest corporate scandal, an investigation carried out by PwC found that Steinhoff recorded fictitious or irregular transactions totalling 6.5 billion euros ($7.3 billion) over a period covering the 2009 and 2017 financial years.



Steinhoff sold down its stake in KAP in March 2018 after placing 450 million shares, or a 17 percent stake, also via an accelerated bookbuild in a bid to plug a liquidity gap.



Steinhoff has also raised cash from the sale of stakes in South African investment firm PSG Group, French online retailer Showroomprive.com, as well a property in Austria.



($1 = 14.4535 rand)



($1 = 0.8885 euros)



Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Louise Heavens

Steinhoff exits KAP

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s Tiger Brands on Wednesday reported a one percent rise in group revenue from continuing operations for the four months to January 31 on Wednesday helped by overall price inflation and volume growth. 



South Africa’s leading food producer had reported a 5 percent fall in revenue in the corresponding period last year.



Excluding its Value Added Meat Products (VAMP) unit, which produces cold meat such as polony, group revenue rose 8 percent, driven by overall price inflation of 2 percent and volume growth of 6 percent, it said.



For most of 2018, production at its VAMP business was halted after the source of the world’s largest ever listeriosis outbreak was traced in March to a factory owned by Tiger Brands’ Enterprise Foods unit, prompting the health department to recall tonnes of processed meat products.



In December authorities gave the food maker permission to re-open the Polokwane processing facility, a few months after production restarted at other facilities.



“The re-launch of the VAMP business has been well received by customers and consumers, however challenges in managing the factory start-ups have resulted in an inability to fully meet demand in this period,” the group said.



This had a significant negative impact on that business’ operating performance, it added.



It saw good volume in wheat, maize, groceries, snacks and treats, beverages, baby and in particular, home and personal care.



Tiger Brands has had to cope with intense competition in a low-growth, value-driven consumer environment, coupled with price deflation in some soft commodities.



“With the exception of sorghum-based products, pasta, maize and rice, all categories recorded selling price inflation although price increases were not sufficient to fully recover cost increases, resulting in gross margin compression,” it said.



The company said it has not received a summons from class action lawyers representing victims of listeriosis, which claimed more than 200 lives in the country.



A South African court in December granted a class action certificate to the victims, paving the way for them to make claims against Tiger Brands.



The company said it has product liability insurance cover appropriate for a business of its scale, which will be used in the event that the company is held liable.



“Coverage has been confirmed by the insurers, subject to the terms and limits of the policy,” it said.



Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; editing by Jason Neely

Earnings

Why Growthpoint may buy this loss making UK company

Steinhoff says it will struggle to turn a profit in coming years

Standard Bank’s expansion in some of Africa’s fastest-growing economies pays off

MTN CFO: Here’s why we are excited about fintech, digital opportunities across Africa

Mpact CEO: Why China’s recycling policy changes are favourable for SA

biNu and MTN SA invent reverse billing concept to curb data costs for South Africans

US-China trade war, illegal imports dampen Okomu Oil’s H1 earnings

Why South Africa’s Woolworths expects earnings to fall as much as 5% in 2019

Severe gas shortages weigh on Transcorp’s H1 earnings

Scandal-hit Steinhoff reports $400 million loss in half-year earnings

South Africa’s Vodacom reported a 6.6% drop in earnings, here’s why

If you invested $1,000 in Apple in 2009, here’s how much you’d have now

Kenya Airways reports higher annual revenue, what you need to know

South Africa’s Gold Fields production up 10 % in Q1

What you need to know about Kenya’s Safaricom losing market share for 5th straight quarter

Steinhoff exits KAP

Tiger Brands reports a one percent rise in group revenue, what you need to know

News Tips

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Earnings

Why Growthpoint may buy this loss making UK company

Steinhoff says it will struggle to turn a profit in coming years

Standard Bank’s expansion in some of Africa’s fastest-growing economies pays off

MTN CFO: Here’s why we are excited about fintech, digital opportunities across Africa

Mpact CEO: Why China’s recycling policy changes are favourable for SA

biNu and MTN SA invent reverse billing concept to curb data costs for South Africans

US-China trade war, illegal imports dampen Okomu Oil’s H1 earnings

Why South Africa’s Woolworths expects earnings to fall as much as 5% in 2019

Severe gas shortages weigh on Transcorp’s H1 earnings

Scandal-hit Steinhoff reports $400 million loss in half-year earnings

South Africa’s Vodacom reported a 6.6% drop in earnings, here’s why

If you invested $1,000 in Apple in 2009, here’s how much you’d have now

Kenya Airways reports higher annual revenue, what you need to know

South Africa’s Gold Fields production up 10 % in Q1

What you need to know about Kenya’s Safaricom losing market share for 5th straight quarter

Steinhoff exits KAP

Tiger Brands reports a one percent rise in group revenue, what you need to know

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