COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Tiger Brands sees volume, margin pressureSouth Africa's largest food producer, Tiger Brands, has reported a double-digit increase in interim revenue as it passed on escalating input costs to customers, but it still felt the pressure in terms of both its volumes and profit margins.Selling price inflation of 17% drove up revenue 16% to R19.4 billion in its six months to end March, it reported on Tuesday, with volumes dipping 1%, and headline earnings per share rising slightly to 731c.The company, which kept its interim dividend unchanged at 320c, had to deal with escalating load shedding costs, which saw gross margins coming under pressure.The maker of Jungle Oats, Tastic rice and Albany bread, also warned on Tuesday that the weakening rand, which hit a record low of R19.83/$, was likely to offset the benefits of weakening prices of certain internationally priced commodities. Volumes held steady in its domestic business, "driven by strong volume recoveries" in its bakeries, snacks and treats and personal care divisions, as well as "good performances in sorghum breakfast, rice, beverages and out of home" segments.There were however volume declines in flour to retail and wholesale customers, as well as in sorghum beverages, groceries and baby categories, with a "marginal decline" in home care.It also reported that a "significant decline" in volumes in its deciduous fruits business, which offset a strong recovery in export volumes.-Fin24Zeda sees inbound tourism revenue jumpZeda, the operator of Avis Southern Africa and the Budget car rental groups, flagged a major recovery in the inbound tourism market, reporting on Monday that its interim revenue more than doubled in this segment as foreign travellers appeared to return to South Africa.Reporting results for the six months to end March, the company said inbound travel experienced a 138.7% surge in revenue, also indicating there was significant room for further growth. It noted its total car rental activities operated at 26.8% of the pre-pandemic levels, with "inbound still lagging at just below half of the pre-pandemic levels"."In addition to inbound, an expected increase in international airlines’ activities utilising chauffeur-driven vehicles presents us with an opportunity to continue to grow the business further in absolute terms," said Zeda.Another star performer for the group, reporting its first set of results since unbundling from Barloworld, was the corporate travel segment, which saw revenue increase more than a half.The performances helped Zeda lift basic earnings per share 27% to 197c and saw its group revenue increasing a fifth to R4.45 billion. Operating profit increased by 25% to R803 million.-Fin24Telkom jumps on reports of PIC-backed bidShares in South Africa's third-biggest mobile operator Telkom rose 7% on Monday following reports that the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) is backing former CEO Sipho Maseko’s investment vehicle, in a bid for a large stake either in it or its assets.Bloomberg reported on Saturday that there were talks that could potentially give a grouping including the PIC, Maseko’s investment vehicle Afrifund, as well as Mauritius-based Axian Telecom, about a 50% stake in the mobile operator.The government owns 40.5% of Telkom, while the PIC - which manages over R2.5 trillion in assets - owned 15.13% of Telkom as of its 2022 year.There is also a possibility that the group would try to buy Telkom’s fiber and tower units and combine them with Axian’s assets to create an African-focused infrastructure company, the unnamed sources said.Valued at almost R14 billion on the JSE, Telkom's shares gained over 7% on Monday, but they have fallen about a fifth over the past one month and by over 40% in the past year.Its depressed share price has added to speculation that major corporate activity is looming for the group, which is due to release results on 13 June.-Fin24Steinhoff creditors back debt holidaySteinhoff's financial creditors have voted to back a three-year debt repayment holiday in exchange for taking over between 80% and 100% of the group's equity.The plan will also see the embattled furniture retailer delist from the Frankfurt and Johannesburg stock exchanges.In an update to shareholders on Monday, Steinhoff that that three classes of creditors had voted to back the deal. Only Steinhoff's shareholders voted against the restructuring plan. The retailer said it would now consider asking a court in the Netherlands, where it is registered, to confirm the restructuring. Steinhoff announced late last year that it was seeking a new debt repayment holiday with its long-suffering financial creditors. At its annual general meeting (AGM) in mid-March, Steinhoff's leadership said it would be unable to pay its off its €10.2 billion (R200 billion) debt burden by the due date of 30 June this year. Steinhoff CEO Louis du Preez told the AGM that the group risked an "inefficient and disorderly" liquidation process if it did not strike a deal.-Fin24US fines consultancy Gartner R50The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has fined consultancy Gartner US$2.44 million for its role in state capture linked to the SA Revenue Service (SARS). Gartner agreed to pay the fine without confirming or denying the SEC's findings. According to the SEC, the US consultancy violated anti-bribery and internal accounting control provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act between December 2014 to August 2015 in its work at SARS. "Gartner entered into a corrupt arrangement with a private South African company with close ties to South African government officials, knowing or consciously disregarding that all or part of the money paid to the private company would be used to bribe government officials to influence the award of consulting contracts to Gartner," states the SEC. The enforcement order states that a South African sales agent for Gartner helped draft the terms of reference for a multi-million rand IT review project at SARS that it later won. Gartner was brought into the project by an unnamed "private company" in 2014, whose executive director was a "close friend" of a senior SARS senior official.-Fin24

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