Company news in brief

Implats delays job cutsImpala Platinum will delay cutting thousands of jobs and closing some capacity at its main South African mine due to operational improvements and higher commodity prices, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.One of the world's largest producers of autocatalyst materials platinum and palladium, Implats is overhauling its Rustenburg mine, which is its largest. Operational inefficiencies at Rustenburg have for years undermined Impala's profits."Revenue is up," one of the sources said, adding that mines that were going to close were now making money or will soon be making money. Implats will delay closing Rustenburg's shaft 12 by one year and shaft 9 by about six months, the source added.However, Impala's older shafts running out of ore to mine and reaching the end of their natural lives make a complete reversal of the closure plan impossible, the sources said.Implats declined to comments ahead of its full-year results yesterday. – Nampa/ReutersEskom faces emissions violationsSouth Africa's cash-strapped power utility Eskom could be forced to shut some plants if it fails to reduce emissions, its chief operating officer warned on Wednesday, raising the spectre of further blackouts.The potential closures, which Jan Oberholzer said could cut a tenth of the state firm's 45 000 MW production capacity, piles pressure on the government which has had to bail out the debt-ridden company to keep it afloat.Africa's biggest public utility supplies over 90% of South Africa's electricity, relying largely on ageing, heavily polluting coal-fired power stations but does not generate enough cash to meet its debt servicing costs.It is also responsible for at least a third of the country's greenhouse gas emissions.Installing the technology needed to reduce carbon and sulphur emissions would cost 10 times the R26 billion the Treasury has earmarked for Eskom in the financial year ending in March 2020, part of a R59-billion two-year package. – Nampa/ReutersRDM's turnover hurt by export headachesMonths of delays in export approvals will hurt Rheinmetall Denel Munition's (RDM) turnover this year and could force the South African defence firm to halt production this month, its chief executive told Reuters.RDM, a joint-venture between German industrial group Rheinmetall and South Africa's state arms firm Denel, has been a stand-out performer in a struggling industry since it was established in 2008.Its roughly 200 million euro (Us$223 million) in annual sales of large-calibre ammunition, propellants and missile components make up nearly 7% of Rheinmetall Defence's total turnover. Some 90% of that is exported outside of South Africa.But new export authorisations have been held up since before elections in May, said Norbert Schulze, who is wrapping up a decade at RDM's helm.The hold-up, which has affected South Africa's entire defence industry, is largely due to the post-election reconstitution of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), which regulates exports. – Nampa/ReutersSamsung to launch foldable smartphoneTech giant Samsung has said it will launch its hotly anticipated first foldable smartphone today, months after faulty screens forced an embarrassing delay of its release.The world's largest smartphone maker spent nearly eight years developing the Galaxy Fold, but had to hold its launch in April after reviewers reported screen problems within days of use.It was a major setback for the firm, which was hoping to spark demand for its high-end phones with the launch of the US$2 000 device, with profits plunging in recent quarters in the face of a weakened market and strong competition from Chinese rivals.After months of "refining" the Galaxy Fold - which is ready for use on high-speed 5G networks in some markets - Samsung said it will release the smartphone in South Korea today, followed by select countries including the United States, Germany and France.The Galaxy Fold has been widely promoted as the "world's first foldable smartphone", while rivals such as China's Huawei have been racing to bring similar devices to market. – Nampa/AFPNissan CEO admits receiving excess payThe head of crisis-hit Japanese automaker Nissan admitted yesterday he received more pay than he was entitled to but denied wrongdoing, as the firm's former chief faces financial misconduct charges.Nissan is already mired in scandal over the arrest and ouster of ex-boss Carlos Ghosn, who is accused of wrongdoing including misrepresenting his compensation.Yesterday, current CEO Hiroto Saikawa acknowledged he had received pay to which he was not entitled. But he denied any wrongdoing and said he would return the excess payments.The admission came after local media reported an internal Nissan probe found that Saikawa and other executives received more equity-linked remuneration than they were entitled to. – Nampa/AFP

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