COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Mpact's reports profit and sales slip, but it's much more optimistic about SA

Africa's largest paper and packaging business and recycler Mpact said on Monday that it has felt the pressure of a tough trading environment on its first-half profits and overall sales volumes. But despite warning not to expect too much from its second half, it is much more upbeat about the next few years due to both its own investment efforts as well SA's generally improved outlook.

Revenue from continuing operations fell 1.1% to R6.17 billion in the six months to end-June and headline earnings just over a third to R180 million, it reported, amid a 2.1% fall in sales volumes, as well as a pickup in finance costs.

But CEO Bruce Strong told News24 that the group got a boost from higher paper prices in the prior year's first half, and it had always been anticipated to be a tough six months, given SA's battles with issues such as load shedding, high inflation, logistics dysfunction and a looming election.

"So, on a relative basis, it's down, but in absolute terms, I think we're still quite pleased with it," he said. The group managed to increase its net asset value per share by 9% during the period, in part due to strict cash management, while Mpact has also "with great enthusiasm" pursued its own investment projects and portfolio optimisation.

Mpact, which employs over 5 000 people, has 41 operating sites cross SA, Mozambique and Namibia. Its paper business accounts most of its revenue, including boxes for, among other things, beer, wine and fruit, while also manufacturing a range of plastic items, including wheelie bins, jars and containers, and crates. About 90% of its revenue is generated in SA, with most of the rest in Africa and just over 1% internationally.

Revenue in the plastics business rose 10.6% to almost R1.1 billion with sales picking up 2.7% but declined 3.3% to R5.1 billion for the paper business amid pressure on volumes.

-NEWS24-

MTN Uganda grows revenue a fifth amid macro boost

MTN Uganda, the JSE-listed mobile operator's fourth-biggest market by revenue, reported on Monday its service revenue picked up a fifth in its half-year to end June and data subscribers more than a quarter.

Along with its own investment in its network and efforts in terms of product offerings, the business was helped by a positive macroeconomic backdrop as the East African country managed GDP growth of 6%.

Group service revenue rose 20.4% to 1.5 trillion Ugandan shillings (R7.5 billion) in the six months to end June, the company said, despite inflation in the country moderating to 3.4%, while its currency even booked a 2% appreciation against the US dollar.

This is in strong contrast to MTN's biggest market, Nigeria, where tough economic conditions and a massive depreciation of the naira has left the unit in the country technically insolvent.

MTN Uganda's profit after tax rose 29.7% to 295.7 billion shillings, with mobile subscribers up 14.6% to 20.7 million, while active-data users grew 26.8% to 8.8 million.

Inside CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity firm behind the global tech outage

Behind a massive IT failure that grounded flights, upended markets and disrupted corporations around the world is one cybersecurity company: CrowdStrike Holdings.

Known as a dominant supplier of software that protects businesses from ransomware attacks, CrowdStrike was thrust into the spotlight on Friday as it struggled to fix a faulty patch that led to cascading, system-wide failures, paralyzing the operations of clients ranging from banks to global retail giants to health-care systems on Friday.

CrowdStrike was founded by former executives of antivirus pioneer McAfee and launched in 2012. It has grown into the leading maker of a relatively new type of security software that’s considered among the best defenses against ransomware and other hacking threats. It controls about 18% of the $8.6 billion global market for so-called “modern” endpoint protection software, just ahead of archrival Microsoft, according to market research firm IDC.

The type of software CrowdStrike supplies is separate and distinct from older, more limited types of security software. Traditional antivirus software was useful in the early days of computing and the internet for their ability to hunt for signs of known malware, but it has fallen out of favour as attacks have become more sophisticated. Now, products known as “endpoint detection and response” software that CrowdStrike develops do far more, continually scanning machines for any signs of suspicious activities and automating a response.

-NEWS24-

Energy regulator rejects Eskom's bid to reserve grid for Bid Window 7 projects

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa has rejected Eskom's application to reserve grid capacity for publicly procured power projects, specifically those of Bid Window 7 of the renewable energy programme.

The decision was made at a meeting on 30 July, a statement from the regulator indicated.

"Eskom has not identified the specific customers, or classes of customers, that it intends to discriminate against, which is required for the energy regulator to approve the application," it said.

Eskom also "did not present objectively justifiable and identifiable differences regarding such customers".

The power utility initially lodged the application in May, to avoid problems experienced in Bid Window 6, when projects could not be awarded bids due to the lack of grid capacity. This is largely linked to the liberalisation of the energy market, as more private players have become active in the generation space in recent years.

In its application, Eskom said it is "duty bound" to support government's energy procurement programme. Failing to do so would "erode investors' confidence, undermine governments' efforts to attract foreign direct investment in the energy sector, and frustrate other government initiatives related to just energy transition."

-NEWS24-