COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Eskom battles to fix Gauteng mini-substations

Eskom is struggling to keep the lights on in Gauteng as more than 180 mini-substations and 2 300 transformers have been damaged, and it is battling to find replacement parts.

"Eskom is experiencing challenges with limited stock levels of mini substations and transformers because of a recorded exponential number of failed electricity equipment due to network overloading," the utility said in a statement.

The network overloading is caused by illegal connections, meter bypassing and tampering, infrastructure vandalism and theft.

Eskom says manufacturers of the equipment required to do the repairs have committed to prioritise the utility "as they understand the impact this has on Gauteng as the economic hub, the essential services and the communities in the province", says Mashangu Xivambu, senior Eskom manager for maintenance and operations in Gauteng.

Adding to the delays in the repair work are increasing road closures and protests which delay entry into areas where work needs to be conducted. -Fin24

Samsung Electronics posts higher Q2 profit

Samsung Electronics on Thursday turned in its best April-June profit since 2018 with an 11% year-on-year rise, underpinned by strong sales of memory chips to server customers even as demand from inflation-hit smartphone makers cools.

The world's largest memory-chip and smartphone maker said its second-quarter operating profit rose to 14 trillion won (US$10.73 billion) from 12.57 trillion won a year earlier.

Revenue likely rose 21% from the same period a year earlier to 77 trillion won, Samsung said in a short preliminary earnings release, in line with market expectations.

Samsung shares rose 2.5% after preliminary results for the second quarter were announced, versus a 1.5% rise in the wider market

The strong quarter for Samsung comes at a time when other chipmakers have warned of a looming chip glut at customers who stocked up during the pandemic to meet higher demand from people working from home. -Reuters

British Airways cuts 10 300 more flights

British Airways on Wednesday axed another 10 300 short-haul flights through the end of October, with the aviation sector battling staff shortages and booming demand as the pandemic recedes.

"The whole aviation industry continues to face into significant challenges and we're completely focussed on building resilience into our operation to give customers the certainty they deserve," the airline said in a statement, having already announced hundreds of flight cancellations this summer. -Fin24

Amazon teams up with Just Eat

Amazon is taking a 2% stake in its struggling US meal delivery service Grubhub, and will offer Amazon Prime members the service for one year.

Just Eat Takeaway bought Grubhub last year for US$5.8 billion in shares. But its own shares have fallen 70% this year as investors demanded it sell it again or find Grubhub a partner.

The stock gained over 16% in morning trade following the latest news. Amazon announced the deal as part of its "Prime Day" promotion on Wednesday (July 6). Customers will get free delivery on orders over US$12 in the 4 000 cities where Grubhub operates.

That will drive traffic to Grubhub, which has lost share to competitors as the lockdown-driven demand for takeaways wanes.

In exchange, Amazon will receive warrants representing 2% of Grubhub's shares, and an additional 13% of shares if the deal brings Grubhub enough customers.

Just Eat Takeaway said in a statement the deal was expected to expand Grubhub membership and start boosting its cashflow from next year onwards. -Reuters