Company news in brief

FirstRand reports 5% half-year profit riseFirstRand reported a 5% rise in normalised half-year profits on Tuesday, lifting its shares even as it warned the impact of a rapidly deteriorating economy in South Africa was becoming evident across its customer base.The bank fared better than rivals Standard Bank and Nedbank as South Africa's economy, which for some time has been characterised by stagnant growth, high unemployment and rising living costs, tipped into recession in the fourth quarter of last year.Still, like its peers, the lender reported a spike in its credit impairment charge, which rose 18%. FirstRand runs the largest retail bank in South Africa and can be seen as a bellwether for the country's economic health.The bank's headline earnings per share, the main profit measure in South Africa, stood at 249.4c for the six months to Dec. 31, compared to 237.9c a year earlier.The figure was normalised to exclude R2.3 billion in after-tax profit earned in the prior year from the sale of a credit card portfolio. – Nampa/ReutersCourt dismisses BHP tax appealAn Australian court dismissed yesterday an appeal by BHP Group against a ruling by the Australian Taxation Office over US$87 million in payments the government said were owed by the top global miner's marketing arm.The dispute was over whether BHP should have paid so-called "top up tax" in Australia on the profits its Singapore marketing hub made from selling coal from the Mt Arthur mine in Australia, which is owned by the UK side of BHP's dual-listed structure, BHP Group Plc.The court ruled that commodities acquired from Australian subsidiaries of BHP Group Plc are subject to "top up tax" in Australia under "controlled foreign company" rules.In its 2019 annual report, BHP estimated the total primary tax subject to dispute for the 2006-2018 income years was US$87 million. – Nampa/ReutersG4S slumps to annual lossG4S, one of the world's largest private security firms, yesterday reported an annual statutory loss after taking a 291 million pound charge chiefly related to its UK cash business.The British contractor, which employs over half a million people in 90 countries, a third of which in Asia, said it has cut back operations in high risk areas to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus but added that the impact so far has been "immaterial".The rival of Sweden’s Securitas reported a full-year statutory loss of 91 million pounds compared with a profit of 81 million pounds a year earlier, after taking a charge related to restructuring and separation its cash business.Last month, it sold a majority of its cash transportation business to US rival Brinks for 727 million pounds, including debt, while retaining its payment and cash technology business. It also held on to its entire cash business in UK, where G4S’ vans and guards transporting boxes of money are a familiar sight. – Nampa/ReutersTata Steel to cut 1 250 jobsTata Steel Europe is planning to cut 1 250 jobs as it faces "challenging circumstances" and "needs to urgently improve profitability", Chief Executive Officer Henrik Adam said in an internal memo seen by Reuters on Tuesday."Our financial situation is serious and there's an urgent priority to improve the performance of the business and our cash position," Adams said in the memo.Besides the job cuts, which would be less than half of what the company had announced last year, Tata Steel said it will not replace employees who have retired or left the company.It had in November decided to cut 3 000 jobs across its European business."Although it's good news that we are able to minimise the impact on our current employees, we need to progress with speed to secure the future for the business," Adam said. – Nampa/ReutersCo-op Bank Kenya wants Jamii Bora BankThe Co-operative Bank of Kenya has offered to fully acquire Jamii Bora Bank, the central bank said yesterday, in the latest instance of consolidation in the banking industry.The 55-year old Co-op Kenya, which is mainly owned by members of the East African nation's co-operative movement, is the fourth-largest lender, controlling 9.63% of the market with 159 outlets.Jamii Bora is the second smallest of Kenya's 39 lenders, with just 0.12% market share and 17 branches.The central bank said the proposed transaction, which requires regulatory approvals, will "diversify the business models of the two institutions and enhance the stability of the Kenyan banking sector."There have been several mergers and acquisitions in Kenya since 2016 brought about by the failure of three mid-sized and small lenders, as well as a cap on commercial lending rates, which was removed last November. – Nampa/ReutersAdidas warns of big virus hit to salesGerman sportswear makers Adidas expects to lose up to 1 billion euro of sales in the first quarter in greater China due to the coronavirus and while business is picking up again there it is now being hit in Japan and South Korea.Adidas forecast currency-neutral sales to increase between 6% and 8% for the full year and for its operating margin to rise between 10.5% and 11.8%, but said the outlook did not include any impact from the coronavirus outbreak.Fourth-quarter sales rose a currency-adjusted 10% to 5.84 billion euro, while operating profit came in at 245 million euro, both shy of analysts' mean forecasts for 5.88 billion euro and 288 million euro respectively. - Nampa/Reuters

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