With the collapsing rand and the many challenges facing emerging markets, it’s not an easy environment for a company like ARB Holdings, which imports and distributes electrical products. yet, despite conditions, the company has managed to deliver really solid results – a 35% increase in headline earnings, double-digit revenue growth, and good cash generation. The … Read more
South Africa is well served by some highly specialised journalists who understand their field better than most insiders. Chris Yelland of EE Publishers is peerless in his coverage of energy field and, in particular, Eskom. Here’s his take on who should run Eskom after the recent resignation of CEO Brian Dames (49) which followed shortly … Read more
Brian Dames is on his bicycle. The highly regarded Eskom CEO says the job is just too energy draining. He’s had enough and plans to spend more time with his wife and children. Problem is, Dames is 48. He’s only been in the job three and a half years. And is the best bet that … Read more
Having worked on the business end of TV cameras on and off for a couple decades, I know how intimidating they can be for those with less exposure to the medium. So try my best to put guests at ease – and never to use the unfair environmental advantage when disagreements erupt on air. But … Read more
Eskom GM Andrew Etzinger is one of the often criticised utility’s best assets. He’s been thrown in the deep end more times than he’d care to remember, and is back in the firing line this week as Eskom declared an emergency situation on power supply – sparked this time by a water leak at the … Read more
Coal miner Keaton Energy produced breakthrough first half results this year – a 192% increase in HEPS, and a 70% increase in revenue to be precise, thanks to an increases in its production capacity. Keaton is a coal-focused group, and as CEO Mandi Glad explains in this interview, the company is betting that Eskom’s plans … Read more
One of Karoo hamlet Prince Albert’s finest, retired labour consultant Bokkie Botha, took a swing at me in the latest Financial Mail – criticising my column on SA’s labour crisis as  “peddling a facile view”. Perhaps he’s right. But living at the sharp edge of business for a couple decades exposes one to realities and unintended … Read more
Roger Jardine, who was a Director General in the public sector while in his 20s, left construction group Aveng in a hurry. In such a hurry that when some awful financial results were subsequently published, we were among those who wondered whether he had been pushed rather than jumped. There’s no more room for conjecture on … Read more
The great writer and philosopher Mark Twain suggested: “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” It’s advice rarely heeded by many in South Africa’s political leadership whose ignorance of running a complex modern economy are becoming increasingly obvious. … Read more
Small improvements in labour relations are feeding through into the FNB BER construction confidence index. That’s the message from one of South Africa’s top economists, Sizwe Nxedlana of FNB. In this interview with Alec Hogg and Gugulethu Mfuphi, on the CNBC Africa Power Lunch, Sizwe explains the six-point improvement in confidence in the third quarter. He’s … Read more