COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Spur&#039;s profits rise as it gets kick from fresh brandingRestaurant group Spur says efforts to reposition its brands, including the iconic "chief" of its namesake restaurants, paid off in its year to end-June, when it managed to up its profits by just over a tenth.A volatile trading year ended on a high as well, it said, and while there is a lot of uncertainty, it&#039;s eyeing the possibility of boost from increased consumer confidence in the wake of SA&#039;s national election. Also potentially boding well is lower inflation, load shedding relief, as well as a potential bite of increased disposable income as SA&#039;s two-pot retirement system takes effect in September.A strong showing over the December and June holidays helped franchised restaurant turnover increase 11.5% to R10.6 billion in the year ended in June, or 7.4% when excluding its acquisition of Doppio, with headline earnings up 10.8% to R236 million. This allowed the group to up its dividend by 10.9% to R2.13.Group CEO Val Nichas told News24 the group was "very thankful" for the result amid an "erratic" trading environment, but so far in its 2025 year, signs are that consumer strain continues."July is our second-highest month after December. So, we had a very high target for July. It was good. [But] it probably wasn&#039;t where we wanted it," she said.Spur is preparing for a subdued environment, she said, even amid the talk of the uptick. Focus will be on quality of service and offering, as well as on marketing, which has already provided a boost.-FIN24- Sunflower overtakes olive oil in Spain Sunflower oil has dethroned olive oil as king of the kitchen in Spain, the world&#039;s largest olive oil producer, as rising prices force consumers to switch to cheaper options. Spaniards bought 107 million litres of all types of olive oil in the first half of 2024 compared to 179 million litres of sunflower oil, according to Spain&#039;s biggest olive oil bottling association, Anierac. Until this year, olive oil has been the most popular cooking oil in Spanish households, accounting for 62% of sales by volume in 2023, while sunflower oil represented almost 34%, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. "It is clear that olive oil consumption is falling in Spain," said Primitivo Fernandez, spokesperson for Anierac. "There are households that used to buy only olive oil and, for the first time, are now buying sunflower oil and olive oil," he said. Olive oil sales by volume fell 18% from the first half of 2023, Anierac said. Sunflower oil sales increased by 25% in volume last year, according to official data. A bottle of sunflower oil cost an average of €1.86 (R37) a litre last year, while pricier olive oil types cost upwards of €6 a litre, 50% more than in 2022, official data showed. Spain usually supplies around 40% of the world&#039;s olive oil, but heatwaves in the spring and a prolonged drought reduced olive harvests over the past two years, doubling olive oil prices to record levels. -Reuters-Xiaomi announces solid growthChinese smartphone and household tech giant Xiaomi on Wednesday announced solid revenue growth for the second quarter of the year, despite sluggish consumption in the world&#039;s second-largest economy. The brand&#039;s presence is strongly felt in China, with its wide range of products spanning mobiles, tablets, smartwatches, headphones, scooters and, recently, electric vehicles. The world&#039;s third-largest smartphone maker, Xiaomi reported revenue of 88.9 billion yuan (about R222 billion) in the second quarter, an increase of 32% year-on-year, according to a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Its profit rose 38.9% year-on-year during the period to reach 5.1 billion yuan. The Hong Kong-listed firm launched its first car - the SU7 - in March, officially entering the highly competitive Chinese EV market. "We expect to achieve the goal of delivering 100 000 vehicles of Xiaomi SU7 Series by November 2024, ahead of schedule," the firm said in the statement. -AFP-

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