Company news in brief
Sappi takes short-term pain for long-term gain
South African paper and pulp maker Sappi said on Thursday that its profit for the full year fell 4.4% as it ramped up investment to modernise plants and shift production to more profitable products.
The Johannesburg-based company, whose European and North American operations contribute 51% and 25% of Sappi's sales respectively, said profit fell to US$323 million from US$338 million.
Capital expenditure was US$146 million, the bulk of which was contributed by projects undertaken at the Ngodwana and Saiccor pulp mills in South Africa.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, which excludes special items, fell to US$762 million from US$785 million in 2017. Fourth quarter profit was up 4.9% while annual sales rose to US$5.8 million.
A final dividend of 17 US cents was declared. – Nampa/Reuters
GE hands leadership of Nigerian rail concession to Transnet
General Electric said on Thursday it has handed over the leadership of a consortium chosen to run a Nigerian rail concession to South Africa's Transnet after the US company spun off its transport business.
"GE will be transitioning leadership of the International Consortium, selected to execute the Nigerian narrow-gauge railway concession, to Transnet," GE said in a statement. "This development is in line with GE's decision to exit the transportation business from its portfolio."
A procurement process adviser told Reuters on Wednesday that GE had pulled out the US$2 billion concession deal with the Nigerian government for two rail lines connecting northern cities to others in the south.
The concession aims cover about 3 500 km of existing narrow-gauge lines from the southwestern commercial capital, Lagos, to Kano in the north and from southeastern oil hub Port Harcourt to Maiduguri in the northeast.
GE said Transnet has been a trusted partner for several decades and that it has confidence in its ability and that of the other consortium members - Dutch-based APM Terminals and China's Sinohydro Consortium - to execute on the rail concession project. – Nampa/Reuters
Eskom to revise coal contract strategy
South Africa's cash-strapped power utility Eskom said on Friday it had revised its coal strategy to revert coal supply to long-term fixed-price contracts and extend contracts for "cost-plus" mines.
Eskom, which has warned of possible power outages after low coal stockpiles, said it would in the short term purchase four million tonnes of coal for immediate supply to recover all power stations to above the minimum required level by the end of March 2019. – Nampa/Reuters
VW embarks on US$50 bln electrification plan
Volkswagen expects to become the most profitable manufacturer of electric cars thanks to a multi-billion euro expansion plan to mass produce battery driven vehicles, chief executive Herbert Diess said on Friday.
VW will spend almost 44 billion euro (UA$50 billion) on developing electric cars, autonomous driving and new mobility services by 2023 and explore further areas of cooperation with US automaker Ford.
Diess said he hoped to have an outline agreement on cooperation with Ford fleshed out by the end of the year, with the initial focus on commercial vehicles. He added that a merger with Ford was not on the agenda and also said there were no plans to take a stake in the American company.
Mass producing electric cars will help the carmaker reduce the cost to the same level as current diesel vehicles, Diess said at a news conference in Wolfsburg, VW's home town .
"Very emotional vehicles, high economies of scale, I think we will be the most profitable company in electric vehicles,” Diess said, responding to a question in English. – Nampa/Reuters
Airbus planning for 'no-deal' Brexit
Europe's Airbus is planning for a "no deal" Brexit as its "baseline" scenario amid a political storm over a draft transition deal, according to a staff memo seen by Reuters.
Europe's largest aerospace group on Thursday welcomed a draft divorce agreement between London and Brussels, but said there needed to be more clarity to allow businesses to plan.
With Prime Minister Theresa May facing a battle to get her draft agreement on the terms of Britain's departure from the European Union through parliament, and a potential revolt from members of her party, Airbus vowed to pursue contingency plans.
"The draft agreement is certainly encouraging but we must remember it is subject to parliamentary approvals," the head of the company's internal Brexit task force told staff.
"For the teams working on preparing for Brexit we must stay focused and keep working at full speed from a baseline of no deal." – Nampa/Reuters
South African paper and pulp maker Sappi said on Thursday that its profit for the full year fell 4.4% as it ramped up investment to modernise plants and shift production to more profitable products.
The Johannesburg-based company, whose European and North American operations contribute 51% and 25% of Sappi's sales respectively, said profit fell to US$323 million from US$338 million.
Capital expenditure was US$146 million, the bulk of which was contributed by projects undertaken at the Ngodwana and Saiccor pulp mills in South Africa.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, which excludes special items, fell to US$762 million from US$785 million in 2017. Fourth quarter profit was up 4.9% while annual sales rose to US$5.8 million.
A final dividend of 17 US cents was declared. – Nampa/Reuters
GE hands leadership of Nigerian rail concession to Transnet
General Electric said on Thursday it has handed over the leadership of a consortium chosen to run a Nigerian rail concession to South Africa's Transnet after the US company spun off its transport business.
"GE will be transitioning leadership of the International Consortium, selected to execute the Nigerian narrow-gauge railway concession, to Transnet," GE said in a statement. "This development is in line with GE's decision to exit the transportation business from its portfolio."
A procurement process adviser told Reuters on Wednesday that GE had pulled out the US$2 billion concession deal with the Nigerian government for two rail lines connecting northern cities to others in the south.
The concession aims cover about 3 500 km of existing narrow-gauge lines from the southwestern commercial capital, Lagos, to Kano in the north and from southeastern oil hub Port Harcourt to Maiduguri in the northeast.
GE said Transnet has been a trusted partner for several decades and that it has confidence in its ability and that of the other consortium members - Dutch-based APM Terminals and China's Sinohydro Consortium - to execute on the rail concession project. – Nampa/Reuters
Eskom to revise coal contract strategy
South Africa's cash-strapped power utility Eskom said on Friday it had revised its coal strategy to revert coal supply to long-term fixed-price contracts and extend contracts for "cost-plus" mines.
Eskom, which has warned of possible power outages after low coal stockpiles, said it would in the short term purchase four million tonnes of coal for immediate supply to recover all power stations to above the minimum required level by the end of March 2019. – Nampa/Reuters
VW embarks on US$50 bln electrification plan
Volkswagen expects to become the most profitable manufacturer of electric cars thanks to a multi-billion euro expansion plan to mass produce battery driven vehicles, chief executive Herbert Diess said on Friday.
VW will spend almost 44 billion euro (UA$50 billion) on developing electric cars, autonomous driving and new mobility services by 2023 and explore further areas of cooperation with US automaker Ford.
Diess said he hoped to have an outline agreement on cooperation with Ford fleshed out by the end of the year, with the initial focus on commercial vehicles. He added that a merger with Ford was not on the agenda and also said there were no plans to take a stake in the American company.
Mass producing electric cars will help the carmaker reduce the cost to the same level as current diesel vehicles, Diess said at a news conference in Wolfsburg, VW's home town .
"Very emotional vehicles, high economies of scale, I think we will be the most profitable company in electric vehicles,” Diess said, responding to a question in English. – Nampa/Reuters
Airbus planning for 'no-deal' Brexit
Europe's Airbus is planning for a "no deal" Brexit as its "baseline" scenario amid a political storm over a draft transition deal, according to a staff memo seen by Reuters.
Europe's largest aerospace group on Thursday welcomed a draft divorce agreement between London and Brussels, but said there needed to be more clarity to allow businesses to plan.
With Prime Minister Theresa May facing a battle to get her draft agreement on the terms of Britain's departure from the European Union through parliament, and a potential revolt from members of her party, Airbus vowed to pursue contingency plans.
"The draft agreement is certainly encouraging but we must remember it is subject to parliamentary approvals," the head of the company's internal Brexit task force told staff.
"For the teams working on preparing for Brexit we must stay focused and keep working at full speed from a baseline of no deal." – Nampa/Reuters
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