COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

No orders for Aspen's vaccine

Aspen needs clear commitments within weeks from African governments for orders of its Covid-19 vaccine or will recommit that production line in Gqeberha to more in-demand anesthetics.

The continent’s biggest drugmaker has been let down by the lack of interest in the shots - a locally made version of Johnson & Johnson’s dose, according to head of strategic trade, Stavros Nicolaou.

“We had counted on, and were assured, that the regional manufacturing platform was critical and would be supported,” Nicolaou said by phone. “We had banked on these initial volumes to give us the time to enable us to pivot to other vaccines.”

Aspen is only making a "trickle" of coronavirus vaccines off the line, he said, and has not had any orders for its own-branded shot earmarked for sale directly in Africa.

The situation is a setback for Africa’s plans to catch up with more developed countries’ Covid-19 vaccination rates, and prepare for the possibility of future pandemics. President Cyril Ramaphosa had been part of a movement that criticized rich nations for hoarding vaccines and tried to force pharmaceutical companies to share inoculation recipes, though take up remains relatively low. -Fin24

BP plunges into huge loss

British energy giant BP on Tuesday plunged into a huge net loss in the first quarter after it decided to exit Russia over the country's invasion of neighbour Ukraine.

The loss after tax stood at US$20.4 billion (R320 billion) following BP's decision in February to pull its 19.75-percent stake in energy group Rosneft, ending more than three decades of investment in Russia. BP had posted a net profit of US$4.7 billion in the first quarter of 2021.

"Our decision to exit our shareholding in Rosneft resulted in the material non-cash charges and headline loss," BP chief executive Bernard Looney said in a statement.

The group booked a pre-tax charge of US$25.5 billion owing to its break with Rosneft. That wiped out the benefit of surging energy prices, which have been fuelled by fears of tight supplies following the invasion by major oil and gas producer Russia. BP revenue jumped 40 percent to US$51 billion in the first quarter from a year earlier.

"In a quarter dominated by the tragic events in Ukraine and volatility in energy markets, BP's focus has been on supplying the reliable energy our customers need," Looney said. -Fin24

Mantashe meets with Sibanye

Sibanye-Stillwater and striking unions at the company’s gold mines met with Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe on Monday after President Cyril Ramaphosa was heckled and forced to abandon attempts addressing a Worker's Day rally in Rustenburg.

Another meeting between Sibanye and labour is set to take place on Thursday. As the strike over wages at Sibanye's gold mines in Gauteng and the Free State enters its eighth week, with no sign of an agreement in sight, concern is mounting over the ripple effects the industrial action is having on beyond the affected gold mines.

Sibanye-Stillwater spokesperson James Wellsted confirmed that the parties met with Mantashe, where he urged them to continue engaging until they reached a settlement.

The meeting was prompted after Ramaphosa's address at a Cosatu rally at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Sunday was reportedly disrupted by aggrieved Sibanye-Stillwater employees who refused to allow him to speak.

Against a demand for an R1 000 increase in each year of a three-year wage agreement, Sibanye has recently adjusted its offer to Category 4 to 8 employees upwards, proposing annual increases of R800 plus an R50 increase in the living-out allowance each year. -Fin24

Media groups demand Google to pay them

An association made up of the South Africa's largest media houses, the Publisher Support Services (PSS), wants Google and Meta to compensate news outlets for the content they use on their platforms, a move which it says is meant to ensure the sustainability of the local news industry.

The proposal is contained in a submission to the Competition Commission as part its market inquiry into online platforms operating in the country.

The association is lobbying body to promote the interests of print and digital media at all levels of government and relevant stakeholders. Its members are Arena Holdings, the publisher of Sunday Times; Media24; Caxton; Independent Newspapers; the Mail & Guardian; and the Association of Independent Publishers.

According to the chairperson of PSS and Mail & Guardian Media CEO, Hoosain Karjieker, platforms such as Google and Meta, the owner of Facebook, have been using South African publishers' content at no cost to grow their market dominance.

"The main objective of our challenge is to protect the future sustainability of the local news industry. The proposed draft legislation aims to ensure fair and equitable remuneration for South African news media businesses, large and small, for the use of their content," he said. -Fin24

Pandora Q1 sales above estimates

Danish jewellery maker Pandora on Wednesday warned of increased uncertainty around its full-year earnings forecast despite reporting record first-quarter sales and slightly raising its sales guidance.

"We are very pleased with the strong start to the year delivering record revenue for a first quarter," Chief Executive Alexander Lacik said in a statement.

Pandora now expects full-year organic growth to come in between 4% to 6%, versus a previous forecast of 3% to 6%, but said the forecast for 2022 was subject to "elevated uncertainty" due to the conflict in Ukraine, inflation and COVID.

It kept its forecast for growth in earnings before interest and tax margin (EBIT) unchanged at 25% to 25.5% despite seeing inflationary pressure and increased costs for energy, transport and raw materials, such as silver and gold.

"Pandora has historically been successful in mitigating cost increases through efficiency and cost savings initiatives. This work continues," the company said.-Reuters