SA’s miners, or former miners, continued to deliver mixed news on Friday, with Sibanye-Stillwater announcing job cuts, but it could have been worse. Coal miner Thungela meanwhile slipped after updating shareholders on how much its profits fell in 2023, while AngloGold Ashanti jumped. In international news, Google’s Gemini AI continues to generate controversy.
Coal miner Thungela warned shareholders on Friday that its headline earnings could fall by about three quarters, saying in a brief statement it expects a decline in headline earnings to between R4.3 billion and R4.9 billion in its year to end-December from R17.5 billion. Companies in the energy business had to contend with much lower prices in 2023 after the war in Ukraine pushed up prices in 2022. Shares in Thungela fell 3% and have about halved in the past year.
SA’s biggest pharmacy group by store footprint Dis-Chem said on Friday revenue grew by 12% in the period between 1 September to 28 January, helped by a strong performance by its wholesale business. Retail revenue increased by 11.2% for the period compared to the corresponding period, like-for-like retail revenue growth was 8.2% and selling price inflation averaged 6.8%. “In line with guidance provided at the time of announcing our interim results, the group continued to deliver stronger second-half retail revenue performance through the festive period and into the fourth quarter,” CEO Ruis Marais said in a statement. “The wholesale business delivered strong revenue growth during the period, with notable revenue growth of 20% to external customers being driven by our differentiated service offering and new customers,” he added. Dis-Chem gained 3.5% and has gained about 12% in the past year.
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