Company news in brief

Group Five gets interest for parts of business

South African construction firm Group Five Ltd has received interest from a number of parties for various parts of its business as it explores selling some assets, it said yesterday.

Group Five's board is considering the approaches, said the company, which this week hired a new chief financial officer with experience in restructuring and asset sales.

The company, whose shares have lost nearly all their value this year, has been cutting jobs and closing loss-making divisions amid stagnant economic growth low public infrastructure spending. – Nampa/Reuters

Barrick, Tanzania make progress in tax row

Barrick Gold Corp has made progress in talks with the Tanzanian government to resolve a nearly 2-year-long tax dispute, but it is premature to say a deal has been reached, a person familiar in the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Government officials met last week with executives from Toronto-based Barrick and Randgold Resources Ltd, which Barrick is acquiring, to discuss the issue, said the source, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the talks.

Acacia Mining, 63.9% owned by Barrick, is operating under a raw mineral export ban and faces a US$190 billion tax bill from the Tanzania government.

That meeting "appears to have gone well," but there is "nothing in writing," said the source. "The next week is crucial."

Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Barrick had reached an agreement with the government on a US$300 million payment, which Acacia will make in installments, with terms under review by a Tanzanian tax working group. It was unclear if the payment resolved outstanding tax issues. – Nampa/Reuters

Nigerian court adjourns MTN, central bank case

A Nigerian judge adjourned on Wednesday a hearing over an US$8.1 billion dispute between South African telecoms giant MTN and the central bank until Jan. 22.

The dispute is over the transfer of US$8.1 billion of funds which Nigeria's central bank said the company had sent abroad in breach of foreign-exchange regulations. MTN has denied any wrongdoing.

Nigeria is MTN's biggest market, accounting for a third of the South African company's annual core profit. The mobile phone network serves 56 million people in Nigeria.

The adjournment came at the request of the central bank and MTN lawyers.

"We are still making moves towards an out of court settlement," a central bank lawyer told the court. – Nampa/Reuters

British American Tobacco stands by full-year target

British American Tobacco, the world's second-biggest international tobacco company by revenue, stood by its full-year forecast on Wednesday.

The maker of Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarettes said it still plans to exceed its target for high single-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share for 2018, excluding a currency impact of around 6%.

Adjusted revenue and operating profit growth will be weighted toward the second half of the year, it said, fuelled by market share gains in cigarettes and growth in e-cigarettes and tobacco-heating devices.

BAT reiterated that those cigarette alternatives would reach 900 million pounds of revenue this year.

The company's shares have fallen nearly 47% this year, due largely to uncertainty around the regulation of menthol cigarettes in the United States, a market that BAT is big in. The company on Wednesday said it was "well placed to manage US regulatory proposals" and that it was "constructively engaging" regulators. – Nampa/Reuters

Rolls-Royce expects 2018 profit in upper half of forecast range

Rolls-Royce expects its 2018 group profit and free cash flow to be in the upper half of its guidance range, the British engineering company said on Wednesday, shrugging off problems with some of its aircraft engines.

Rolls, whose main business makes engines for large airliners, had forecast group operating profit of 400 million pounds (US$509 million), give or take 100 million pounds, and free cash flow of 450 million, give or take 100 million pounds.

It said it now expects its results to hit the upper half of those ranges after airlines flew their planes for more hours, helping Rolls earn more from maintenance and related activities.

The positive guidance comes despite problems with its Trent 1000 engine which has meant airlines have had to ground some of their Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes, and after slightly lower-than-expected deliveries of some other engines.

Rolls said that it was readying itself for Britain's exit from the European Union by building up inventory amongst other contingency plans. – Nampa/Reuters