- Nedbank has reported a drop in revenue for the year ended in December and a loss in headline earnings of almost 60%. The lender saw a slight increase in net asset value and declared a preference share dividend and says it expects to resume dividend payments this year. The company opted to “retain capital for both potential growth opportunities but also for potential further risks in the virus,” Chief Executive Officer Mike Brown said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. If the backdrop turns more sour, “we always retain the opportunity to return that capital to shareholders at a later stage,” he said.
- The RMI group says it is satisfied with its performance in the 6 months ended in December. The group achieved 11% growth in consolidated normalised earnings to R2bn driven mainly by a 23% increase in normalised earnings by OUTsurance. On the other end of the spectrum Momentum Metropolitan’s normalised earnings decreased by 43%. RMI declared an interim cash dividend.
- Curro Holdings says learner numbers increased by 6% in the full year ended in December. Revenue grew to just over R3bn while headline earnings per share dropped by nearly 40%
- Shoprite CEO, Pieter Engelbrecht says South Africa’s private sector must be allowed to secure vaccines on their own to speed-up the slow rollout of Covid-19 shots. Shoprite which employs over 140 000 people “would certainly purchase for our employees to get those front-line people vaccinated as quickly as possible,” he told Bloomberg. “There are 25 million customers through our stores every month, so one can understand how critical it is for our people to be vaccinated.”
- Sotheby’s, a world-renowned auction house has said that it is exploring ways for art collectors to pay for digital and physical artworks with cryptocurrencies. According to The Wall Street Journal, this comes after rival auction house Christie’s sold a digital collage to an investor who paid $69m in digital currency.
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